


Point of Interest

by HipsterHobbit



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Cars, College AU, Dead Mothers, Drunken Shenanigans, Fluff, Hanji and Levi have the best BROTP, Hurt/Comfort, Introspection, Levi is a drama queen sometimes, M/M, POV Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Pining, Reiner is a total babe, Student Eren, brief homophobia that is swiftly dealt with because these guys don't fuck around, oh my god is there fluff, socially inept babies, the sass is strong with this one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-02-05 16:06:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 48,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1824283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HipsterHobbit/pseuds/HipsterHobbit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is a taxi driver in Trost city, when his usual Saturday night is shaken up when a drunken Eren falls into his taxi with his friends. After a few chance meetings a relationship starts to form between the unlikely pair.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Barriers

**Author's Note:**

> Point of Interest- London cab driver slang for any two places that they may be asked to take a person too.  
> I've wanted to write this AU for a while, this chapter is pretty much just to introduce everything.  
> In this chapter there is virtually no Ereri, I'm sorry, but there will be, trust me.  
> I can be found on levis-dildo.tumblr.com yes, that is my URL  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy.

The city lights in downtown Trost flickered and danced before an endless audience of clubbers, party goers and those out to enjoy the brief period of time called life that they had. The raucous cacophony of the night life echoed around the soaring skyscrapers and out into the cold, night air. Some found the vibrant life that lived inside the hollow shell of Trost somewhat beautiful.

  
Levi hated it.

He hated the rude people; they had no regard for anyone else outside of their own little bubbles. Their actions conveyed their idea that they were the only people in the universe who had a place to be on a Saturday night, therefore they did not care who they cut in front of and shoved aside. He hated the constant drone and buzz of the city. He found after so many years that the once lively and vivacious sounds of the metropolis soon turned into a monotonous tune that had been repeated far too often for his liking, the song of the city losing its appeal, leaving a distasteful feeling in the back of his throat. But most of all he hated the goddamn germs and overall uncleanliness- the grime under punters’ nails when they handed him their money, litter that skirted along the edges of the pavement when there was a _fucking bin_ right next door, even the air which was polluted from the myriad of car fumes and god knows whatever filth that lay in Trost made Levi want to dry heave.

  
Levi hated a lot of things. But he didn’t hate being a taxi driver as much as he let people believe.  
Sure, the hours were long, so incredibly fucking long that they seemed to drag and some days swerving off the road and sending his vehicle soaring off the nearest bridge and into Abaddon seemed a lot more appealing than having to do another journey with drunks in the back who were more than likely to refuse the fare. The pay was grossly inconsistent also- some weekends Levi could be hitting four figures, whereas others who could be scrapping by, the fear of the overdue gas bill fueling his anxiety. The punters could be unpleasant, rude and downright awful people that made Levi lose faith in humanity in a repetitive cycle that made him wonder how he could even be classed even in the same genus as some of those creatures.

  
But Levi secretly enjoyed some aspects of his job. He was a man of very few words and even fewer of those were pleasant. He was a difficult man to read and an even harder man to like. He liked to think that those who could crack his hard outer exterior would find a second impenetrable layer. However, Levi loved gossip. He would never partake in it himself per say, that would involve interaction and admitting his guilty pleasure. He lived alone so that he could watch TV chat shows in peace, quietly reveling in such mindless topics of the hosts’ relationships and wardrobe malfunctions. His love of gossip would go with him to the grave; no one could know that the aloof man with the bored expression that he portrayed to society secretly loved such mindless drivel. So when nicer punters, the ones who weren’t drunk or had a stick shoved so far up their arse that they could be used in a Punch and Judy show, climbed aboard and huddled together, discussing topics ranging from relationship shenanigans to how they could never quite cook a turkey to the same level of perfection as the chefs on TV, Levi always kept an ear in the conversations. He would never join in; he would just be a silent voyeur wordlessly admiring the mundane piece of art called life in front of him.

  
Saturday nights were always the worst time for being a cab driver. The roads were gridlocked and filled with impatient and aggravated drivers, some varying in levels of intoxication. The punters would start the evening rude and inconsiderate of the mess they made of Levi’s spotless taxi, and end the evening the same way, albeit off their faces and more likely to vomit upon his upholstery.

  
Upon this particular Saturday night, Levi found himself outside of one of the district’s most popular bars ‘The Wall’, hovering outside on the lay by, waiting for some punters to come staggering out and in need of a black, four-wheeled chariot to whisk them away into a sunset of neon lights and shattered dreams. Erwin had been virtually silent over the intercom, so Levi had been left in his own thoughts for most of the night. His thumb was mindlessly caressing the leather steering when three men started to stagger out of the bar. Levi sat bolt upright, his eyes analysing the potential punters, weighing up whether or not they were worth his time. The all appeared to be in their late teens or early twenties, most likely students from the array of universities in the area. A short boy with cropped blond hair was supporting the two boys on the end, appearing to be the only sober one out of the trio. He clutched at their shirts, trying to stop his rowdy friends from wandering off or falling flat on their faces.

  
“You guys needing a ride” Levi called out, deciding that there were worse customers out there than two drunken students and their friend.

  
“Please, there’s no way my friends can walk home like this” answered the sensible friend, having to sharply yank the taller of his friends as he tried to stumble back into the bar.

 

“Jean, please, we need to get you home.” The blond chided.

  
“Just make sure they don’t puke, otherwise they’ll have to clean it up with their shirts.”

  
“This cab is black like my soul” The third boy slurred.

  
“You don’t have a soul Eren.”

  
“Fuck off Jean-bo.” The one called Eren made half-assed swipe at the taller boys face.

  
“I swear to god Jae-“

 

“Guys!” The short one squeaked. “We’re getting in the cab, behave yourselves!”

  
Levi rolled his eyes, it was too late now, and even he would feel slightly guilty about driving off and leaving the blond boy stranded with two sorry excuses that were far into the realms of inebriation. A job was a job, and he needed the money.

  
The blond boy, who Levi mused looked startlingly like a smaller, less masculine He-man, swung the taxi door open, narrowly avoiding the taller boy’s head, as he was leaning heavily against the boy’s shoulders, the night’s antics bearing down heavily upon his liver.

  
“In you get Jean.”

  
Jean made some pitiful groans in protest as he was shoved into the back of Levi’s taxi; his escape attempt at returning to the alcoholic watering hole was thwarted by the blond boy bundling quickly into the taxi, yanking the Eren kid behind him quickly. He slammed the door shut, sending the cab shuddering, and sealing the trio in.

  
“So.” Levi grunted. “Where will it be?”

  
“Do you know the Shingashina apartment complex?”

  
Levi snorted. “Kid, I know everywhere in this goddamn city, we’ll be there shortly.” He hazarded a quick glance in his rearview mirror. “And I was being serious about your friends being sick everywhere.”

  
The boy laughed nervously. “Don’t worry, these two must have stomachs lined with lead, they won’t ruin your cab.”

  
Levi grunted in response, pulling out of the lay by and into the ongoing current of moving vehicles jostling for position. The Shingashina apartment complex was only a short drive away, so he wouldn’t have to deal with the kids for too long.

  
“I can’t believe she left me man.” Jean bawled into the blonde’s shoulder. “She was my everything.”

  
“You were only with Sasha for like a week, I’ve had orgasms last longer than you two.” Eren slurred.

  
“It felt like soooo much longer though, in dog years that’s like…like eternity.”

“What’s that in horse years, Jean?”

  
Jean attempted to swing a punch at Eren’s face, but the short boy in the middle got between them, acting as a squeaking barrier. “Fuck off, Jaeger, just because you don’t know what love feels like.”

  
“Fuck you, Jean.” Eren slurred. “I’m just waiting for the right person. At least I have you guys.” At this Eren startles to nuzzle affectionately into the blonde’s shoulder.

  
“Don’t make it gay, Eren.”

 

“You say that like it’s a bad thing!” He expostulated.

  
Levi kept his eyes on the road, amazed at how the shorter boy could keep calm with his boisterous friends. Suddenly, a strangulated squeaking sound came from behind him. Levi quickly flicked his head round to see what the commotion in the back was. The Eren boy was dragging his hand down the plastic barrier that separated Levi from the plebs and the punters, as there had been many incidents of taxi drivers being assaulted from their work.

  
“Mister cab man.” The boy drawled. “Why are you in a plastic box?”

  
Levi would have usually been annoyed at being asked such a ridiculous question from a drunken punter, but he couldn't help but notice the boy’s handsome features and bright, inquisitive eyes that looked so naked and honest and pure, so much purer and innocent than anything else in the filthy debauched city that Levi begrudgingly called home.

  
 _Cute_ He thought. _Fuck, concentrate on the job, you’re nearly 30, old man, this would be like robbing the cradle_.

  
The blond boy in the middle looked sheepish at his friend’s antics, but Levi couldn’t resist the urge to indulge in the meaningless conversation.

  
“It’s to protect me from customers.”

 

Eren’s eyes became bigger than Levi thought they could possibly get, the boy leaned forward, nearly pressing his face against the brittle plastic.

  
“Why would anyone want to hurt you?” He gasped. “Armin, why would anyone want to hurt him?”

  
The boy in the middle sighed, it sounded like he was used to the tirade of childish question whenever Eren was in a drunken stupor. “I don’t know Eren, some people are just nasty.”

  
Jean meanwhile had started to doze off against the window, his strong features squashed against the glass, not feeling the vibrations of the car dancing between the lanes anymore. Levi held in a snigger as he took a corner slightly faster than necessary, sending his passengers jerking sideways. Eren smacked his head on the window, earning a startled yelp from the boy, whilst Jean head butted his window with a hearty _thunk_ , awakening him from his brief slumber with a string of slurred curses. Levi snorted and apologised with little sincerity. He was allowed to have fun occasionally; he was doing them all a favour after all.

  
“But I really miss her.” Jean whined, apparently remembering his current predicament.

  
“You’ll still see her around.” Armin tried to comfort the lost cause, rubbing his knee affectionately.

  
“Yeah, there’s plenty of sea in the fish!” Eren cried enthusiastically, earning a tired side-eye from Armin.

  
“But I want _her_ , she was- is- perfect.”

  
“You said that about the last one,” Armin sighed. “What was their name again?”

  
A pained expression flicked across Jean’s features. “Ughh…now is not a good time to be asking me this, Armin, I’m under emotional distress!”

  
“Yeah,” Eren hiccupped. “That was such a dick move, Armin, Jean’s had his heart broken, and…and torn up and shit. Leave the poor man alone.”

  
Armin eyes met Levi’s in the mirror; the boy looked exasperated and stressed, but still managed to hold it together for his cohorts. _He’s a good kid_ Levi thought _they’re lucky to have a friend like him._

  
“Don’t you have a lecture tomorrow, Eren?” Armin attempted to divert the conversation quickly, wanting to avoid a direct confrontation with two unreasonably pissed students.

  
Eren looked horrified. “Shit…I forgot…whoops.” Then he groaned. “I’ve got Professor Shadis too, he won’t let me sleep, that selfish bastard. If only he knew the pains I go through.”

  
Jean nodded his head enthusiastically. “I hear you, staring at fish all day is the fucking shit, so wild.”

  
“Fuck off, horse face.”

  
“Your mum didn’t seem to think I had an ugly fa-“

  
“My mum’s dead, you insensitive fuck!” Eren screeched, hurling his body at Jean, the seat belt tensing in resistance.

  
“Oi, you little shits, no fighting in my car!” Levi growled, swerving sharply in his cab, sending his occupants flying once more. This seemed to subdue the two boys, reducing them into grumbling heaps on his back seats. Levi tutted, young men were full of such testosterone and rage, some of them were like half-starved animals, backed against a wall, waiting to lash out at any given opportunity. Still, the boys in the back seat were going to mellow out with age, get a mortgage, a pension, a wife with 2.4 children probably. They would start to wear sensible shoes and dance badly at family barbecues to songs that were apparently ‘better in their day’ and reminisce at their pasts, laughing in wonder at what angry young men they used to be in a world that they thought despised their very existence. Levi always thought that the entire concept of life was sad- we were all trying to be unique and different as a way of creating an antidote to the illness of life and the brutality of time. He once read somewhere that ‘time’s a slut, she screws everyone’ and he had never once found a quote that spoke with such clarity as that one. In the blink of an eye, your life and youth has slipped through your fingers, the aspects that made you feel different and unique and special start to lose their appeal and you unconsciously start to conform to the social norms presented to you by your peers. You don’t even put up any resistance, because you’re too busy living in the moment to see it strolling past, only truly appreciating it once it brushes past your shoulder without any acknowledgement for the times you shared, not even a fucking _sayonara sucker_ as it saunters away, leaving you alone and vulnerable in an ever changing world. When Levi looked at the young men in the backseat, so full of life and energy and feeling fucking invincible, he now only felt sad. Sad at the realisation that he had turned into a bitter old man at 29, not even out of his twenties before hitting the rocky patch known as ‘middle aged’, which would eventually pan out into ‘old’, before finishing off at ‘fucking ancient’.

  
Levi sighed, his internal soliloquy unheard to his younger passengers, no one was in the audience to appreciate his work. But that was because Levi refused to open the doors to the theatre of his mind, some taking his introversion as being rude and disrespectful, as they wanted to probe his mind with a fine-toothed comb and see for themselves what buzzed around in that funny little head of his. Even those closest to him were rarely allowed a viewing to either his matinee or evening performance; the tickets were hard to come by and seldom put on sale at all. Levi only liked to dish them out for the special showing to the small amount of people in his life that truly mattered to him, usually when he was drunk or feeling strangely exhilarated that he couldn’t help but let his secrets wander loose and the inner mechanisms of his mind spill out from his exited mouth, tripping out in their hasty exit as they never knew when they would make another reappearance.

  
“’M sorry Eren.” Jean mumbled, looking bashfully at his fingers, wiggling around in a vexed motion.

  
“S’fine, sorry for shouting at you.” Eren sighed, his hand slumping onto Jean’s knee. Jean’s drunk smile sat dumbly on his face as he gazed intently at the other boy.

  
“You’re so full of shit sometimes, Jaegar, but you’re one of my best friends in the whole wide world, y’know?”

  
Levi’s heart let out a weird pang when he saw Eren’s stupid grin in his rearview mirror. “I love you man.”

  
Jean snorted. “God, you’re so gay Eren.”

  
Eren winked, attempting to be more suave than his intoxicated state would allow, making him look like he was having a mild stroke instead. “I try Jean, oh my god do I try.”

  
The cab turned the corner into the Shingashina apartment complex, narrowly missing a cat taking a midnight stroll across the car park. Levi asked for his fare, which Armin paid, with a generous tip to boot, as he was the only one sober enough to pay for the ride.

  
“You’d better get these boys to bed.” Levi chuckled.

  
“I’m sorry about my friends.” Armin sighed. “They do get a little excitable at times.”

  
Levi snorted. “A little? Don’t worry about it kid, have a nice night.”

  
Armin smiled at Levi, saying his goodbyes before opening the door on Jean’s side and nudging the boy out with his foot. Jean grunted some goodbyes at Levi, before starting to stagger off towards the building.

  
“Come on Eren, let’s get in before Jean tries to chat up anyone else.”

  
The blond proceeded to start dragging the inebriated boy out by the arm, not before Eren could turn round to look at Levi. Even in the dodgy lighting of the taxi Levi couldn’t help but notice that the boy’s eyes seemed to sparkle with life and how even in his drunken state his wonky smile was still breath taking, as it crawled its way up the boy’s face.

  
“Night Mister cab man, thanks for not killing us.”

  
“It’s not too late, kid.”

  
Eren giggled, apparently amused by the death threat as he fell out the cab. Levi felt like he had to watch the trio enter the grimy building, as for some reason he felt oddly responsible for the young men, ignoring briefly the fact that he was on duty and his rent was getting ever closer. He pulled out of the complex and back onto the road towards the centre of town, wishing that more of his customers were as peculiar but somehow endearing as those boys had been.


	2. Close encounters of the stalker kind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the morning after, Levi finds himself driving Eren once again. Bickering ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your kudos, I'm glad people are appreciate what I'm doing out there and it's not just for me. Hopefully will have another chapter or two out before I go on holiday.  
> Anyway, enjoy!

Levi managed to steal a few blessed hours of sleep before the harsh shriek of his alarm clock brought him back to the land of reality and goddamn responsibility. On Levi’s long list of hatred, mornings were near the top: society decided that food had to be shit before midday, the TV was usually too positive and contrasted his current emotional state too harshly to make it enjoyable, and the fucking dawn chorus of birds and noisy school children made him either want to commit homicide or suicide. He was not sure which one would have the better outcome.

 

Heaving himself out of bed, leaving his bed in disarray, the only time when untidiness was acceptable, Levi made his morning pilgrimage to his sacred coffee machine. Like diabetics depended on their insulin shots, Levi needed his morning coffee fix to allow him to function somewhat normally, or as close to normal as Levi could get, in society. Coffee was his friend- it never judged him and just like an expectant partner on their honeymoon night it was eager to get down his throat. Levi liked his coffee black, the bitterness reminding him of himself, the two of them saying a non-verbalised _fuck you_ to the universe as they both tried acclimatise to the bastard called morning together.

 

Levi sighed; he really needed to get out more.

 

Without bothering with a proper breakfast, Levi grabbed his keys off the kitchen table top and headed out of his flat, being careful not to slam the door as surprisingly he was considerate of his neighbours. Unlike the bastard at 106 who liked to throw house parties on weeknights with no warning to his fellow residents. Levi wouldn’t usually mind, it was just that the owner of the flat’s choice of music was not one that he shared; he could only listen to aggressive rap music at 3am so many times. Levi took sweet vengeance by stealing his morning paper.

 

Levi ignored the stale stench of urine outside the block of flats as he entered his little Siat Ibiza. He did not live in the most illustrious area; taxi fares didn’t exactly produce the best salary. The engine grumbled into life as he headed off to depot to pick up his cab. Every morning Levi had Meatloaf’s ‘Bat out of Hell’ CD in his car, as much to his amusement and love of order in the universe, the titular track at 9 minutes 50 seconds lasted exactly the same amount of time as the duration of his morning journey. If he was slowed up by traffic, there was hell to pay.

 

Erwin offered his usually morning greetings as Levi went to trade his keys at the office. Erwin, the gigantic wall of blond muscle, was the owner of the taxi service that Levi worked for, which he had called the ‘Survey Corps’ for whatever reason, he’d never bothered to ask why. Levi did not care, as long as he got paid and everyone left him to do his work in peace. He had used to wonder how a man such as Erwin Smith had ended up running a taxi cab business, but as Levi started to get to know the man, it started to make more sense. Erwin, underneath his stern gaze and chiseled features, was more of a control freak than even Levi himself. He was perhaps slightly psychopathic in his own ways, he enjoyed being in control of his own select group of people, having them at his own expense to do as he so wished. He was a hard, calculating man, so being in charge of his own small company with little to no interference from the outside world was exactly where he wanted to be. These qualities did not make Erwin a bad person, if anything Levi respected him even more for his cut-throat business strategies whilst still caring for his staff. _More shit would get done in the world if there were more Erwins_ , Levi mused.

 

Despite being his boss, Levi cared for Erwin greatly, and he knew that the feeling was mutual. Erwin was one of the select few that Levi had allowed into his life, as he had helped him out countless times, staying by his side through some utter shit, never judging Levi or treating him any different for it. Erwin was manipulative, but he was a real person, he saw the best in people and aimed to extract it from them to benefit both parties. Erwin had seen something in Levi that no one had ever seen or taken the time to even fucking bother to look for before,  and Levi knew that he would forever be in that bastard’s debt.

 

With no fixed schedule for his Sunday morning shift, Levi had found he had unconsciously driven towards the Shingashina apartments again. _Fucks sake, little man, get your shit together. You’re a grown-ass man with a fucking mortgage, not some love-sick teenager with a crush. There’s no work for you to do over here, get over yourself._ Levi’s mind wandered back to the previous night and the boy with the endless eyes. _Nope,_ his internal voice screeched at him _he was just another punter. A cute punter, but you’ll never see him again. Boo-fucking-hoo, grow a pair, dipshit._

 

 

In the midst of Levi’s internal battle, a young man came haring out of the building, sprinting down the pavement whilst attempting to put on a jacket. Levi noticed that it was Eren from the previous night, feeling like an old pervert as his heart stuttered a bit when he saw the boy’s disheveled bed hair violently thrashing in the wind. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

 

“Hey kid” Levi wound down the window. “Do you need a ride?”

 

_I offered him a ride because I’m a good Samaritan and shit and he obviously needs to be somewhere in a hurry. Not because I’m a stalker. Nope. Good intentions, Jesus be proud._

 

 

The boy whirled around, wide-eyed and alert, looking like he was ready for a fight or two. Once he realised that it was Levi whom had spoken to him, he uncoiled himself slightly.

 

“Are-are you sure?” The kid asked. “Don’t you have places to be?”

 

“Brat, I wouldn’t have bothered asking if I didn’t mind giving you a lift to wherever you need to be. You’re obviously running late.”

 

The kid sighed in defeat and bounded over to Levi’s cab, causing the glorious bed hair to whip angrily at his impromptu movement so early in the morning.

 

_Imagine what it would be like to wake up to that hair every fucking day._ Levi mused. _NOPE. YOU ARE GOING BEYOND THE REALMS OF CREEPY NOW, FUCK FACE, HE’S PROBABLY STRAIGHT AND HAS A BORING, NORMAL GIRLFRIEND WHO HAS MAKES CUTE LITTLE SOUNDS AS HE FUCKS HER. DON’T EVEN GO THERE, LITTLE MAN. YOU DON’T NEED ANYONE. LONE FUCKING WOLF._

 

 

“I just need to get to the university, I’m so late.” Eren groaned in the backseat of the cab. Levi grunted and started driving, not wishing to make the kid even more delayed than he already was.

 

“Didn’t you have a lecture or something this morning?” Levi’s eyes widened as he realised his mistake. _Fuck, he probably doesn’t even remember who you are, what happened to not talking to customers, Levi?_

 

Instead the boy just groaned, running his fingers through his disarrayed hair. “Yeah, who the fuck thinks that scheduling a lecture at 9am on a Sunday morning is a good idea?”

 

_Danger avoided, you dodged that one, now just don’t fuck up again._

 

Against all of Levi’s better judgment, he decided to bite the bullet again. “Feeling a little worse for wares this morning?”

 

_You asked him about his feelings. You don’t do feelings. You don’t do anyone because you have the flirting skills of a fucking walrus with leprosy and daddy issues._

 

 

Thanking that his internal dialogue was not heard by anybody, Levi heard the kid groan once more. “Oh God, you remember that?”

 

“Kid, you nearly had a full on fight in the back of my cab and confessed your love for your friends within minutes of each other. I’m not forgetting that in a hurry.”

 

His eyes darted to the rear view mirror, to be met with the joyous view of Eren’s cheeks turning slightly pink.

 

“Shit, I’m so sorry about that.” Eren held his head in his hands. “I’m never drinking again, that was just embarrassing.”

 

Levi snorted. “You’re lying through your teeth, brat. I bet you’ll be down the bars getting pissed off your head cum Saturday night. You’re young, kids your age drink like fishes, vodka is better than air to you people.”

 

Levi’s heart did that annoying stammering again when he heard Eren laugh behind him. _Shorty got it bad._ He groaned silently. _Fucking abort mission before it’s too late._

 

“We usually don’t go out that often.” Eren protested.

 

“Lying is a sin, heathen.”

 

“Well…okay we don’t always get _that_ drunk anyway. It was because Jean had been dumped by another girl and so to stop him moping we went down to the bar to try and cheer him up a bit.”

 

“He sounded like quite the Casanova last night.”

 

“Yeah,” The boy chuckled. “He’s so shit with girls; he throws himself into relationships and tends to scare them off in the process. He should accept that he is gay and come to terms with the fact that he is useless with women.”

 

Levi arched an eyebrow. “You think he’s in Narnia right now wanting to bone Mr. Tumnus?”

 

“He has this really close relationship with this Marco guy, the way he talks about him makes it sound like fucking holy light shines out of his backside. He’s gay.”

 

“Can I ask you something?” Eren asked.

 

“Within reason, brat.” Levi was curious at what the kid had to say.

 

“Why do you call me kid and brat when you’re only a few years older than me?”

 

Levi snorted. “I like to consider myself far more advanced than you in mental years. Besides, you were the one giggling as you fell out of my taxi.”

 

“Bullshit, you flatter yourself; we both know you have a crude sense of humour.”

 

Levi was surprised, the kid had been completely off his face on their first encounter and by their second chance meeting, not because Levi was a stalker, Eren had already understand Levi’s fairly primitive sense of humour. Even his closest friends sometimes struggled to understand that how such a seemingly haughty and uptight man could laugh like a child at dick jokes still. But yet the shitty brat who couldn’t even get to a lecture in time because he had no self control the night before seemed to understand Levi’s warped mind. He was impressed.

 

“I’m sorry, who couldn’t get themselves out of bed on time like a responsible adult?” Levi snapped back, his sudden surprise changing back to the snarky bitchiness that he wore so well.

 

“I’m not going to live this down for a while. I’m 19, I am still allowed to go out and enjoy myself.”

 

_Oh God, that’s 10 years. When you were 20 and living it up, he was probably still watching Power Rangers and writing his Christmas List out of the Argos catalogue. Robbing. The. Cradle._

 

“Hey,” Eren looked sheepish all of a sudden. “How old are you?”

 

“A lady never reveals her age.”

 

Eren snorted at this, looking slightly deflated that Levi didn’t answer his question. _Are those…fuck…are those puppy eyes? Oh Jesus fucking Christ, abort mission._ Levi knew he was royally fucked as grey eyes met sorrowful blue orbs of emotion in the mirror. The kid wasn’t even doing it intentionally, which irked Levi even more. Did the brat not know what effect he had on people?

 

“I’m 29.”

 

Eren’s face lit up in delight. _Fuckyoufuckyoufuckyoufuckyoufuckfuckfuckfuckfuckityfuckingfuck._ Levi’s voice of reason screeched at him when he felt elated at making the boy happy, seeing the delight glint in those brilliant eyes. _At least those puppy eyes are gone; otherwise I’m not sure if this plastic barrier will be enough to hold me back._

 

“See, you’re not even 30 yet! Why are you calling me a kid if you’re barely and adult yourself?”

 

Levi huffed indignantly. “What would you rather I called you?”

 

A mischievous fire flickered in Eren’s eyes. Levi felt mortified; did he accidentally just flirt with the little shit?

 

“I don’t know, what do you want to call me?”

 

_Shitshitshitshitshit. Be cool, be cool. Think with your head, Levi, not your dick._ He felt his cheeks feel uncharacteristically warm, what happened to cool and collective Levi not giving a fuck about _feelings_? He was not going to let the shitty brat get away with it. This meant war.

 

“Okay…cranberry fucknut.”

 

A loud guffaw came from the back of his cab. Eren was doubled over laughing, tears streaming down his face. Levi was confused, what had he done that was so goddamn hilarious? No one ever found him this entertaining; usually he was just the clean freak midget with a volatile temper, not fucking _hilarious._

 

“Oh man.” Eren managed between laughs. “I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t that. That was creative, kudos to you. Where the fuck did that one come from?”

 

A sly grin morphed its way onto Levi’s lips. Time to shine. “Well fucknut because obviously you are a gigantic fuck nut, don’t deny it. And cranberry because that’s the colour of your face more often than not.”

 

Right on cue, Eren flushed, his face going a glorious shade of red. Levi didn’t particularly think that the kid blushed a lot, but he just wanted to tease him mercilessly. 

 

“Actually, I think you're more of a beetroot fucknut?”

 

_Levi-1, Eren-0._

 

 

_Don’t fuck with me, kid. You will not win._

 

“You’re so full of shit…ugh…I don’t actually know your name.”

 

Levi rolled his eyes. “I don’t suppose you’ve bothered to look at my ID that’s hanging _right in front of you, dingus_.”

 

Eren leaned forward, eyes squinting as he attempted to read Levi’s license, which was swinging rapidly as the car darted in and out of the city lanes.

 

“…Levi, right. You’re so full of shit, Levi.”

 

“Brat, this is why I’m the adult here and you’re the shitty kid. At least you can fucking read I suppose. That’s something going for you.”

 

Before Eren could embarrass himself further, Levi swerved the cab into Trost University Campus. Whilst the rest of the city was sleek and modern and _soulless,_ the university on the outskirts of Trost was an old, rustic building, filled with bustling people working towards their hopes and dreams, shaping their futures piece by piece. It was the only place in Trost that felt full of life, it was vibrant, timeless despite its worn out exterior and Levi sometimes wished that he had not fucked up enough so that he could have enjoyed a place that encouraged and nurtured you to achieve. Whereas the city was a place of destruction and despair, dreams were crushed and buried under the sin and constant stream of busy people, trampling down the weak, eating the defenseless alive. The world was cruel, so very fucking cruel, but it could be oh so very beautiful. Levi realised this as he pulled into the parking lot- the autumn leaves were yet to have fallen off the array of trees lining the campus, complimenting the rustic browns and reds of the university building. Trost was composed of silvers and greys, cold, unforgiving colours contrasted to the warm browns that he was currently surrounded by. This place was a haven, and Eren was lucky to be here.

 

 The time on his dash read just after nine, so Eren wasn’t as late as he should have been, thanks to Levi being helpful and totally not a stalker at all.

 

“Thank you so much, you’ve seriously saved me from complete destruction.” Eren gushed. “What do I owe you?”

 

Levi considered this for a moment, ignoring the price on his dash flashing angrily at him. “You know what…fuck it…that was on me kid. Now get out of here, you need to get to your lecture.”

 

Eren’s mouth opened and closed, reminding Levi of a fish, no wonder the brat studied them. _I’ll have to ask him what he actually studies next time._ He thought. _Oi, fuck off, don’t assume there’ll be a next time, this was just a chance occurrence and now you’re doing him yet another favour. You’re being pretty saint like today, Levi, you’re arse might be saved for heaven yet._

 

 

“Th-thank you Levi!” Eren exclaimed, nearly tripping over as he tried to get out of the cab in his haste. His face was red.

 

“See you around, kid.” Levi sighed, watching the boy run off in search of his lecture hall. He rest his head against the plastic barrier behind him, listening to the buzz of life that filled the campus. Levi was thankful for the shield that he could hide behind more often than not- punters could be dangerous people and it was a way of separating him from them. The clear division stopped them from wanting to converse with him and attempt to ask him such mundane questions about his life and who he was. _I am no one_ Levi thought _why should you care about who I am? I’m just here to drive you around so you don’t have to walk around on your own two legs, because who’s dumb enough to do that anymore?_ But with Eren, Levi just wished that perhaps the plastic and the barriers he put up were no longer there and he could truly look at the young man and so they could see each other clearly for who they were. Forget facades and masks worn for society, Levi just wanted deep down to feel like he was alive and real and just not entirely fucking alone in the universe.

 

_Fuck’s sake little man, this is the second time you’ve met him and you’re already going off on a poetic tangent of bullshit. The chat shows have finally rubbed off on you._

 

As Levi left the haven of Trost University, he couldn’t help but hope that divine intervention could lead him to meet Eren again, the only person who had truly interested him in a very long time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Argos catalogue- Department store that literally sells everything. They also have a huge-arse catalogue that comes out every few months. For some reason children tend to write a lot of the Christmas list from it as it makes it a little easier for Santa.  
> My headcanon is that AU Levi loves Meatloaf, I'd like to think he appreciates the rock twined with the operatic style, as he is a little dramatic


	3. Out of his reach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi drives the boys on another night out, but it seems like they drink a little too much this time. A few more characters are introduced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi slowly starting to get somewhere now! This chapter is a little bit longer, I thought about splitting it but it just seemed to work better as one bigger chapter.  
> As ever, you can find me on levis-dildo.tumblr.com, feel free to send me any messages.  
> Thanks for all the lovely comments and kudos once again, it really gives you a boost when you know people out there are appreciating your work.  
> Anyway, hope you enjoy.

“3 guys from Shingashina to The Wall, anyone available?”

 

Levi nearly swerved off the road as Erwin’s deep voice boomed from the intercom. He had just finished off his last run, just a small hen party on their way to start a pub crawl. Hen party was an appropriate name for the crew- they squawked loudly, especially when a cock was near. Levi had to grind his teeth and focus on the road to attempt to quell his urge for going on a murderous rampage. He hated screaming. Most loud noises of little or no relevance severely pissed him the fuck off, why couldn’t people appreciate the calmness and serenity of silence just a little more often? Noise was irrelevant, and Levi hated that.

 

Then that fare opportunity had come up. Levi couldn’t be sure if it was Eren and his friends, but if he passed up the job then he would have that nagging thought of _what if_ for the entire evening. He also couldn’t risk another cabbie snatching Eren from him. _But he’s not even yours, shit face. You’ve only met the kid twice, stop acting like a possessive boyfriend._ But what if it _was_ Eren’s crew and another taxi driver took them? Would he feel the same connection with the boy as Levi had? Would he be reliable? He could be one of his slightly lacking co-workers, to put it lightly. Levi didn’t trust them as far as he could spit- he thought they were shifty, suspicious men. Who in their right mind would willingly go into driving a cab to make a living? Some of them claimed that cab driving was _their calling, it just seemed right to them,_ but it all just sounded like lies, lies, lies to Levi. He always suspected that they might have fucked up royally along the way, failed school, stabbed a civilian in the face with scissors, or be harbouring a dark secret that inhibited them from getting a normal 9-5 office, soul-sacrificing regular job like the drones of regular people in the workforce.

 

Levi worried that if one of his co workers took the trio they might end up in the wrong end of town and they could end up hurt or worse and it would all be Levi’s fault and the anxiety and the fear and the _oh God-_

 

“I’ll do it, en route now.”

 

Crackling.

 

“Levi, are you sure?”

 

He smirked. Mission success, no one was stealing Eren away from him.

 

“I’ve got slow business around here, I don’t mind, I’m heading there right now anyway.”

 

“…okay, thanks. Stay safe.”

 

It was common knowledge that Levi rarely took booking punters, he personally preferred to just do his own thing and trust his own judgment. His lesser cohorts could do the calls instead, let them run around and do master’s bidding. Levi liked to go with the flow and see where the evening took him instead.

 

Eren had to be the exception, of course. _Fucking creepy old man. Remember when you were starting to go beyond the realms of creepy? Fuck that, you’re long past that stage now, little man. You’ve fucking soared past that and smashed through the fabric of reality because your dick has caught the scent of a cute brat with those eyes and fucking laugh and ughhhhhhh. Fuck this shit. What happened to aborting the mission, Levi?_

 

 

Levi announced his arrival at the Shingashina apartment complex by hooting his cab’s horn, sending that cat that he had nearly run over last time skittering off in fright. _I’ll get you next time, shit rag._ Looking around, Levi finally noticed that Shingashina was a little bit of a shit hole. _It’s shit like you, stumpy, welcome home._ The faint smell of rubbish and other questionable scents cloaked the air, making Levi’s nose hairs curl in disgust. Lewd graffiti dressed the building. It acted as a tribal tattoo, defensive markings, warning people to stay away. _Don’t go here_ the building seemed threatened _you’re not wanted._

 

 

The sound of commotion drew Levi away from his staring contest with a building. When he saw who it was his heart did that fluttering thing again, like a rotting fish being electrocuted.

 

Because some bastard just wanted to fuck with things that were already dead.

 

The three punters did turn out to be Eren and his two friends, Jean and Armin, after all. Levi thought he’d better wave at the little shits, because good customer service and corporate bollocks like that, not because Levi wanted to make a good impression on Eren and co. And just to make matters worse, Eren waved back, that big, stupid grin plastered on his face because it was Levi in the taxi.

 

_Oh holy shit Levi, he’s fucking happy to see you. Just wait until he gets to know you, that usually scares people away._

 

“Hey, didn’t you drive us back last Saturday?” Jean asked as he slumped himself down in Levi’s cab like he owned the place. Punters were like that- just because they brought your service they seemed to think that the vehicle was fucking _theirs_ to lounge around in and do as they pleased. You wouldn’t go into a stranger’s house and drape yourself over their furniture, so why would you do it in a taxi?

 

Levi’s eyes narrowed as he saw Jean rest his feet on the head rest of the seat in front of him. Those feet had been on the ground. More specifically the filthy ground of Shingashina complex which was festered with germs and dirt and things Levi didn’t even want to think about as he feared the contents of his stomach may make an appearance. And now the grimy shoes were touching his chairs, in his car, in too close a proximity to Levi’s face for him to feel even remotely comfortable.

 

“Feet. Off. The. Chair.” Levi hissed, gritting his teeth together in fear that his mouth would run off on him and Eren would never look at him the same way again. Levi didn’t think his little heart could take it if that happened.

 

Mercifully, Jean complied quickly, stuttering out apologies at his mistake and disregard for social courtesy.

 

“He did, Jean.” Armin informed the boy as him and Eren climbed in to Levi’s cab. “This poor man had to deal with yours and Eren’s drunken antics. He has the patience of a saint”

 

Jean groaned and squished his face up as the blurry memories came flooding back. Eren laughed at this, the rich, enchanting sound captivated Levi. He then realised with sheer horror that he was starting to break out into a nervous sweat, Levi sensing the cold perspire starting to trickle down his neck. Gross. _Shitshitshit. Don’t start getting clammy; you can’t grip the sodding steering wheel if your palms are wetter than a whore’s thong, little man. Conceal don’t feel, Levi, don’t let them know._

 

Amongst Levi’s long list of Secrets That Shall Always Remain Secret was the fact that Levi was a hardcore Disney fan. He didn’t consider himself a casual viewer, one who would enjoy the odd film and not think anything much of it ever again. Levi was obsessed: he had seen every single animated feature multiple times over, more times than he’d had hot meals probably. Whenever Levi was particularly gloomy or work had been stressing him out, well, more than usual, he liked to combat them by watching his favourite film, The Little Mermaid, wearing only his underwear whilst eating a bowl of Cheerio, like the adult that he was. Stretched over his sofa, Levi would warble along loudly to ‘Part of Your World’, ignoring when the asshole above him would start banging on their floor, telling Levi to ‘shut the hell up’. _Fuck you, you uncultured turd, you have to sing along to Disney films, that’s where the magic is._

 

 

“Don’t think too hard, Jean. Your face might get permanently stuck like that.” Eren laughed at his friend.

 

“Guys, please, can we just get to the Wall?” Armin sighed, massaging his temples.

 

"You guys back there already?" Levi asked, pulling out of Shingashina complex. He had been driving taxis for so long sometimes Levi felt like he was going into autopilot; it felt more natural than basic activities such as grocery shopping. Which Levi really needed to incidentally enough, making a mental note to go out on his day off.

 

"Too right!" Eren cried excitedly. "They've got a noughties night tonight, they're going to play some right classics! It's going to be amazing!"

 

Levi snorted. "The noughties were only a few years ago, brat, why do they feel the need to dedicate a whole night to playing shitty pop music?"

 

He heard an animated gasp coming from behind him. "Levi! Can't you appreciate real music when you hear it, you uncultured turd?"

 

 _That's my line, shitty brat_. "Fuck off shit tits, just because you were born so late that you can't remember what proper music sounds like.”

 

“I’m sorry Levi, what year were you born in?”

 

Jean and Armin meanwhile were sitting in the backseats, stunned into silence at the odd exchange between the two; the only noise that could be heard for those few seconds was the sound of Levi grinding his teeth together, before he mumbled something unintelligible.

 

“I’m sorry, old man, didn’t quite catch that.”

 

“…1984…” Levi muttered. _I swear to God, kid, if you weren’t so fucking adorable and your eyes weren’t so big then I wouldn’t hesitate about beating you into a bloody pulp right now._

 

“So I can trust you remember what the 90s were like then? Unless you started going senile early of course.”

 

“I still get war flashbacks, kid, your naïve little mind could never comprehend the monstrosities that I have seen.”

 

“I told you to stop calling me kid!” Eren whined.

 

“Okay, whatever you say Cranberry Fucknut.”

 

Levi glanced quickly into his rear view mirror. Status of Eren Jaeger: blushing like a nun during spring break. Success.

 

“…Eren …are you _blushing_?” Jean asked incredulously, snapping himself out of the paralysis at the bizarre predicament he had found himself in between his close friend and a supposed random taxi driver.

 

“SHUT UP, JEAN.” Eren shrieked.

 

“Why are you going red, Eren?” Armin interrogated, joining in at bullying his friend.

 

“I’M NOT GOING RED.”

 

As the volumes o Eren’s protests increased, so did Levi’s scarcely seen smile, soon spread wide over his features. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had smiled so much, which was evident in the way his cheeks were starting to burn from the foreign position they were forced into.

 

The teasing and tormenting lasted until Levi swung his cab into the lay by directly outside the Wall. This time Jean paid the fare, muttering something about being ridiculously drunk last time and the embarrassment of his antics.

 

“Are you guys looking to be picked up too?” Levi asked, turning to face the trio properly in the back.

 

“If you’re still around by then.” Armin offered, the other two nodding in agreement.

 

“Yeah, that’d be great.” Agreed Jean. “It finishes tonight at 4, and I imagine we’re going to be in there all night.”

 

“Too right we are!” Eren shouted, slapping his friends on the shoulders. “We’re going allllll night, you guys had better keep up with me!”

 

“In your dreams, sunshine.” Jean snorted. “I’ll drink your arse under the table. Again.”

 

“You’re on, horse face.”

 

“Jaegar I swear to God I’ll-“

 

“Guys do you want to get in there any time tonight?” Armin cried. Levi chuckled as the boys were man handled out of the cab.

 

“I’ll see you guys at 4 then.” Levi shouted out after them, craning his neck to see them off. However Eren turned around and started bounding back towards the taxi, wrapping his knuckles on Levi’s window, indicating for him to wind it down. Bollocks _, what does this twat want now?_

 

“Need me to hold your hand or something, brat?”

 

“You look cute when you smile, you should do it more often.” Eren grinned, and without a second glance he started galloping back towards his friends, leaving Levi with a burning face and his mind going into overdrive. _Whatwasthatnononononofuckfuckfuckwhatnowhat?????Flirt????He flirted with me????Eren with the pools for eyes and that big dopey grin called this piece of shit cute???_

 

Levi sat there dumbfounded, completely paralysed and unable to move from shock. And then Levi did something that was so very out of character for him: he started giggling. Not just a little chuckle or snort like that reserved for a passing snide remark or lewd thought; Levi was giggling like a small child, hysterical tears running down his cheeks. His sides were aching and his vision was blurred, leaving him to rest his face on his steering wheel so that no passersby could look in and gawk at the odd little man that looked like he was having a seizure. _Levi. You are nearly 30. You should not be giggling like you have a crush._ His eyes widened. _Oh shit, you have a crush. When was the last time you had one of those?_ The answer to that was never- Levi had fucked and been fucked in more ways than one, but there had never been an emotional attachment, no feelings of sentimentality or care were channeled through the animalistic actions, fueled by lust and desperation. Afterwards had always been awkward and cold, as Levi and the other party neither cared for each other or themselves, just searching for a quick release, something to numb the callous mind and ease the constant tide of pain. But Levi had never once felt emotionally involved or _wanting_ to feel connected to another human being, it was always just Levi against the world, the lone wolf; the only soldier left standing in the battlefield of life.

 

 _My how the mighty have fallen_ Levi sighed, deciding to knuckle down and continue on with the evening’s shift, counting down the seconds until 4 in the morning already. He tried to push back the image of Eren sticking his head through his window, eyes shining up at him.

 

Time was a cruel bitch, she knew that Levi was waiting for the hours to pass by until he could go and pick up Eren, so she decided to crawl by, because _fuck you Levi, how dare you look forward to something for a change._ It had been a bad, no, _truly_ awful shift, one which Levi was keen to forget, with the shouting matches, the minor orgy and that one punter who tried to run off without paying his fucking fare, may he step bare foot on a thousand Lego bricks. But that was all fortunately behind Levi, and now it was just before 4 am and he found himself once again parked in the lay by outside the Wall, waiting for a miracle to stumble back into his life. And lo and behold, Eren and his friends stumbled out of the bar once again.

 

Last Saturday, Armin had been steady on his feet, helping Jean and Eren find their footing. This time was different. Jean, Armin and Eren practically fell out of the club, clutching on to each other for dear life. Armin had procured some shutter shades from somewhere, Jean’s check shirt was on back to front and Eren…

 

Eren was topless.

 

_Jesus is wonderful, thank you for the gift you have bestowed upon this pervy old man._

 

The three of them struggled to stand up, Jean catching sight of Levi’s cab and shrieked happily to his friends, dragging them to their getaway car for the evening. Levi thought about getting out and helping the sorrowful sights, but miraculously Jean had worked out how to open the door, practically chucking the bodies of his partners in crime into the cab.

 

“Eyyyyyy, thanks for turning up, man.” Jean slurred, helping his friends with their seatbelts, fussing over them like a mother hen. Levi tried to avoid looking at Eren's naked torso.

 

“You said 4 and here I am, was it a good night?” Levi asked, cutting in front of a car so as to get the boys home quicker, earning an angry honk from the disgruntled driver behind.

 

“It was…amaaaaaaazing.” Eren giggled. The boy was completely wasted; it was amazing he could still just about string sentences together, let alone coherent words.

 

“Evidently. How you doing back their Armin?” Levi thought he’d better check on the blond as he’d said nothing as he was thrown unceremoniously into the taxi.

 

“I’m fucking fabulous, so fucking good. That was the shit” Armin mumbled.

 

Levi was taken aback. The quiet, well-mannered boy had been transformed into some foul-mouthed drunk. The change was hilarious; Armin looked like he could take Levi on for the worst, or best depending on your point of view, potty mouth.

 

Armin was slumped in the back, whilst Jean and Eren seemed to still have some energy in them.

 

“Jeeeeeeean.”

 

“Ereeeeeeeen.”

 

“Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaan.”

 

“Ereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen.”

 

“Jeeeeeeeeeeee-.”

 

“Fucking Jesus fucking H. Christ, shit heads, knock your shit off.” Armin growled aggressively.

 

“Oh no, looks like we have a grumpy gills over here, Jean-bo.” Eren gushed. “We need to cheer him up!”

 

“Hell yeah!” Jean cried, smacking his face against the window by accident again as Levi turned a corner. “How can we cheer him up?”

 

“Don’t fucking touch me, I swear to God…” The blond threatened.

 

“I know!” Eren shouted. “How about a song!”

 

“Please spare me…” Levi muttered, unheard by the intoxicated boys.

 

“When the world…leaves you feeling blue.” Jean began.

 

“Fucking hell no.” Armin and Levi moaned at the same time, recognising the dreaded song.

 

“You can count on me,” Eren joined in. “I will be there for you.” Throwing his limbs over his companions in what was probably meant to be a friendly gesture, but from a distance looked more like an aggressive octopus attack.

 

“When it seems, all your hopes and dreams.” Jean warbled.

 

“Are a million miles way, I will re-assu-COME ON ARMIN!”

 

After a few muttered protests, Armin found himself joining in to the bridge of the song.

 

“We’ve got to all stick together; good friends are there for each other.” The boys warbled collectively, attempting to sway in time to the song in their inebriated state.

 

“Never ever forget that I’ve got you and you’ve got me so-“

 

Levi found himself smiling along to the boys’ antics, and much to his utter disgust, when the chorus of the song came up, he found himself singing along quietly.

 

“REACH FOR THE STARS.” The trio hurling their bodies upwards, hands in the air, aggressively doing the actions to the song that sound tracked so many birthday parties and school discos.

 

“CLIMB EVERY MOUNTAIN HIGHER. REACH FOR THE STARS.” Now even Levi was jumping upwards, recklessly lifting his hands off the steering wheel. _Fuck it, enjoy yourself, old man._

 

“FOLLOW YOUR HEART’S DESIRE.” Levi found his gaze flicking towards Eren, who was staring intently at him already, causing the older man to look away quickly so as to hide his pink face.

 

The guys continued caterwauling in unison until Eren shrieked for solos at the straight eights.

 

“Don’t believe in all that you’ve been told.” Eren crooned, nudging Armin to continue on.

 

“The sky’s the limit you can reach your goal.” The blond’s shades were now starting to slide off his face in the chaos.

 

“No one knows what the future holds.” Jean sung drunkenly.

 

“TAKE IT AWAY, LEVI!” Eren shrieked.

 

“There ain’t nothing you can’t be, there’s a whole world you can be.” Levi warbled, Disney sing-along marathons giving him all the vocal training he ever needed.

 

“I SAID REACH.” They all shouted in unison again, violently doing all the dance moves to the song, even fading out for the finish. They all found themselves laughing at their mini performance, Levi hoping that no other drivers saw him dancing along to a stupid song from a crappy band from nearly 15 years ago with a bunch of drunken students he barely knew. But he didn’t regret it in the slightest.

 

“See, we cheered you up Armin!” Eren laughed excitedly, slapping Armin on the back harder than he intended to. That was when Levi noticed Jean looking dangerously pale, hunching forward slightly.

 

“Jean…” Levi warned.

 

“Oh God.” The boy managed to moan as he then proceeded to empty the contents of his stomach onto Levi’s spotless cab floor.

 

Levi had kept his threat from the first time, forcing Jean to trade in his shirt for the crime he had committed. However, there was no way the kid could even clean Levi’s taxi, he was completely trashed. Actually, all three of the lads were hammered- Eren had reached a state of near catatonia in the aftermath of Jean vomiting, being stunned into silence from the terrifying glare that Levi had given Jean.

 

It was deadly quiet in the Shingashina complex; the residents had long since gotten to bed. Levi sighed; there was no way that the boys could get up to their flat in the state they were in.

 

“Is anybody awake in the back there?”

 

Silence. Then a few groans and slurred answers. Fuck. Levi whipped off his seatbelt and started to pull Jean out of the car when he heard a shout come from behind him.

 

“Hey, are they alright?” The heavily accented voice belonged to a huge blond man lumbering towards Levi. His immense size and straining muscles made Levi start to drop into attack mode, when he saw the big goofy smile on the man’s face.

 

“Are you friends of theres?” Levi guessed that the hulking mass of the man in front must be a neighbour of some kind, as he seemed to recognise the unfortunate trio.

 

“Ja, I live across the hall from them, I study with Jean and Eren and Armin. I’m Reiner- do you need help with them?”

 

“Thanks, there’s no way I can help them back on my own, I don’t even know where they live.”

 

Reiner laughed at this. “Don’t worry, I can help you.” And at this he gently grabbed hold of Jean and swung him over one of his muscular shoulders.

 

“Mumma Reiner.” Jean giggled in delight into the man’s solid neck.

 

“Hush, little Jean.” Reiner laughed, patting him on the back. “We’re getting you home.”

 

To add to Levi’s astonishment at the motherly actions of the hench body builder before him, Reiner then softly tossed Armin over his over shoulder like he was weightless.

 

“Can you manage Eren?”

 

“I’ll gladly take Eren.” _I’m sure you will, stalker mcstalkerson._

 

Levi yanked Eren out of the cab by his shirt front, taking care as to not lot the kid bash his head on anything. _Don’t want to make him more stupid than he already is._

 

“Leeeeevi, are you gon’ to take me home?” Eren attempted to say, his tongue flopping pathetically in his mouth.

 

“Don’t worry, Eren, I’ve got you.” He reassured.

 

Levi tried chucking the boy’s arm over his shoulder and dragging him along by the waist, but Eren’s legs were too long and the height difference between the two was just that bit too much, causing Eren to trip and nearly fall onto the floor.

 

“Oh no you don’t,” Levi chastised. “Come here, we’re going to have to do this a different way.”

 

Bending down to grab Eren’s knees, Levi lifted the kid up and started to bridal carry the boy into the building. He was thankful in that moment for the weights he used to lift, never thinking there would be a time when his working out would ever come in handy when his job was to drive a sodding taxi.

 

The inside of Shingashina was equally as filthy as the outside- cracks in the walls looked like veins, running along the plaster in all directions. The moldy, yellow paint looked like it had once been cheerful and welcoming had now become decrepit and sallow in its years of mistreatment, reminding Levi of the nicotine stains that chain smokers had branded onto their skin. The battered receptionist’s desk in the centre had been abandoned, the residence obviously being left to fend for themselves indefinitely.

 

Levi started towards the lift when Reiner’s deep laugh cut him off.

 

“Oh no, the landlord hasn’t fixed it yet, we have to use the stairs unfortunately.”

 

“What floor do they live on?”

 

“7”

 

Levi sighed; _you’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now. I’m barely 5 foot fucking 3 and I’ve got to carry this lump up several flights of stairs._ He looked down at his charge. Eren had dozed off, little snores of contentment escaping his lips at regular intervals. Levi noticed that his hand was lightly gripping the front of his shirt and Eren was nuzzling his head into Levi’s chest, softly smiling at the warm body heat there. Levi’s stomach flopped erratically, forbidding his legs from going floppy at the sight before him. _You’ve got a job to do, fuck face, don’t go all sappy now._

 

“Hang in there, Eren, you’re nearly home.”

 

After 7 flights of stairs, Levi was not sure how he was still standing. He groaned as his back and knees screamed in protest at the physical excursion, but there was no way in hell he was putting Eren down.

 

“We’re nearly there now,” Reiner whispered, the large man obviously caring for the sleeping residents. “They all live together just down here.”

 

Levi followed the big man until they reached flat 304, before Reiner wrapped his knuckles lightly on the peeling white door. He heard shuffling footsteps from within, when a pretty Asian girl with dead set eyes opened the door. Her face remained expressionless until she caught sight of Reiner and Levi carrying her three roommates, her eyes widening slightly.

 

“I found them in the parking lot, they partied a little too hard I think.” Reiner laughed, before indicating to Levi. “This is their taxi driver; he was kind enough to take them home.”  

Levi nodded, Mikasa moving aside quickly to allow them to take the boys in.

 

“Why are Eren and Jean half naked?”

 

Levi froze at this; the girl had her eyes narrowed menacingly. “I don’t know, I think they took them off at the club at some point.” He had omitted the part of Jean being forced to surrender his shirt for cleaning up his sick, as he felt that Mikasa wouldn't take well to his idea of punishment.

 

“Thank you.” The girl spoke again. “I know they can be a bit of a handful at times.”

 

“It’s fine, I just wanted to make sure these guys got home safely.”

 

The flat was obviously cheap, but it seemed like the four of them had tried to do the best with what they had. The fading walls were hidden by photos containing the residents and faces belonging to other friends and family of theirs. The battered TV in the background was playing an old movie re run, some martial arts flick apparently, the sounds of chaos and destruction humming softly from the corner of the room. It was apparent Mikasa had stayed up waiting for her friends to come home, textbooks scattered precariously across the coffee table in front of the TV.

 

“Eren shares a room with Mikasa in there.” Reiner pointed the direction of the room with his head. “I’ll get Jean to bed first.”

 

Eren was still clutched to Levi like a limpet as he gently nudged his way into his room. The furnishings, like the rest of the flat, were fairly plain, showing that the four of them were obviously on a tight budget, but that was what student life was for you. Eren’s bed, much to Levi’s disgust, was unmade and expectant for its occupant to return home. Levi tried to pry Eren’s fingers away gently from his shirt front, but the kid had a vice like grip, refusing to be parted from the surprising warmth exuding from the cold man.

 

“It’s okay Eren.” Levi whispered into his ear, shivering slightly at the close proximity. Last time they were together Levi had been wishing that the barriers separating them were not there, and for once in his life, that bastard in the cloud had decided to throw Levi something good, no, fucking _wonderful_ , for a change. “You’re home now, you can let go.”

 

The boy mumbled in protest, nuzzling his head closer to Levi instead, but his grip slackened slightly as Levi clutched his hand. He could feel his usually dormant heart thudding against his rib cage, the noise seemed deafening to him but was soothing to the younger man against his chest.

 

Eventually Levi begrudgingly managed to pry Eren away from him, laying him gently down in his bed. As Levi pulled the covers up, tucking him in, Levi could hear the kid mumbling in his sleep.

 

“Levi…” He sighed, a small, content smile playing on his lips.

 

He froze. Was the brat awake or dreaming of him? Levi shook it off, there was no way he would surely know and it didn’t really matter, did it?

 

“See you later, kid.”

 

Levi sighed, starting to leave the room, before turning back swiftly on his heels towards the sleeping bundle. _Fuck it_ he thought, before planting a sweet little kiss on the boy’s forehead.

 

“Sweet dreams, Eren.”

 

  _I was lucky enough to see him this many times,_ Levi sighed, _luck isn’t a close friend of mine and I’ve told fate to bugger off more times than I can count, so if you didn’t do something, Levi, you would have regretted._ He hazarded one last look at the sleeping boy behind him. _Nearly as much as you regret leaving him now._

 

 

He returned to the main room to find Mikasa and Reiner talking in hushed voices to each other.

 

“Eren’s asleep now, how are the other two?”

 

Reiner nodded. “Sleeping like babies too, none of the boys can handle their drinks. They wouldn't have lasted long back in Germany.” The big man laughed.

 

“You seemed to know them well.” Mikasa inquired, the time of night not affecting her interrogating skills.

 

Levi shrugged. “I drove them last Saturday night and I've driven Eren since then too. They’re good guys.”

 

Mikasa seemed to like this answer, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly at the revelation that Levi wasn't a stalker. _Oh, you have no idea._

 

 

“I’ll see myself out; don’t want to keep you people up any longer than you already have been.  See you later.”

 

They thanked him again as Levi left the flat, driving back home to return to his empty home. He realised then that the trio hadn't paid for their return fare, but he could find a place in his aching heart that could care.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song they sang to in the cab is 'Reach' by S Club 7 if you didn't know. That song still haunts me, they played it at my prom the other day, even when I'm in my 60s they'll still be playing it I swear.  
> Got to love mumma Reiner.


	4. Vodka party for one

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Eren is Levi's knight in shining armour, or more accurately 'brat in shining Vauxhall Corsa'.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaand I'm back from my holiday, sorry for the wait. I would have updated yesterday but I kind of fell asleep on the floor as I was too tired to make it to my bed.  
> The response on the last chapter was phenomenal, I'm glad people enjoyed the drunk boys, fluff and mumma Reiner. I got an anon on my tumblr (levis-dildo.tumblr.com) asking if I was going to update, so whoever that was, ta daa!

Levi always had Thursdays off, as he needed to do his cleaning purge of his entire flat. It was common knowledge that Levi was obsessed with cleaning; he took great pride in the organisation and spotlessness of his little flat. Keeping his home clean was not hard, and he could not understand how people could stand to have their homes spiral into disarray. Levi loved cleaning. He loved the complete control he felt when he was scrubbing his flat from top to bottom, knowing that he was removing the dirt, destroying the grime and bacteria that dared to invade his home with each passing minute. He was the lone warrior, defending his homeland from the savage barbarian germs that had the audacity to try and conquer what was his. _Not today, bitch, you fuckers won’t know what’s hit you._

 

 

Levi sighed. He really needed to get a healthier hobby.

 

He loved the smell of a fresh home too. Cleaning products had the most glorious fragrance that almost, _almost,_ made Levi smile.

 

But most of all, cleaning allowed Levi to meditate and work through some issues. In previous weeks Levi would be grumbling about horrible close encounters with the punter kind, taking out his pent up anger in scrubbing the windows with vigour. However, things had changed in the past few days and Levi's focus had shifted from punter nightmares to the boy who smiled softly in his sleep _. Well that's not creepy at all, little man. Congratulations, you've now seen Eren sleeping; you have finally completed your induction course into becoming a stalker. You're parents would be so proud. Not that they’ve ever been proud of you before, of course, be realistic here._

 

The hoover was humming and whurring in sympathy to Levi's woes, drowning out the soft pitter patter of rain brushing against his windows. He heaved it back and forth, back and forth, the hypnotic motion calming his vexed mind. _Should you have kissed him, Levi?_ _Didn't you just make saying goodbye harder for yourself? Eren is 10 years younger than you, for fuck's sake, talk about grooming._

 

He turned the hoover off and sat crossed legged on the floor. Levi held his head in his hands and let out the loud, frustrated sigh that had lodged itself in the back of his throat. _But it doesn't really matter though. He will never know that you kissed him, tucked him in or how you feel when he looks at you with that intensity. You probably won't ever see him again, and if you do it may be months, years even from now and by then the spark may have passed, Eren will have moved on of course, looking at settling down with someone who makes his heart beat that little bit faster. And you, old man, will be forgotten once more, because who pays attention to the twat behind the wheel?_

 

Heaving himself off the floor, Levi made a bee line towards his little kitchen. _Fuck it, it's vodka time._

 

Unfortunately Levi had neglected to remember that his fridge was dangerously empty, and now after the brief vodka party for one, there was no way Levi could drive to the store. He kind of wanted to keep his driving license, as losing it might be hazardous to his job. So it was 2 in the afternoon and Levi was trudging towards the supermarkets whilst slightly tipsy. Still, at least it wasn’t raining. _Fucking great idea that was, fuck face, don’t drink vodka in the day when you have shit to do. You have so much shit to do, asshole, vodka was not a good choice. Actually no, fuck that, vodka is always the best option. No regrets._

 

 

In that instant, a car drove close to the pavement, sending the puddle that had collected from the morning’s downpour swooping over Levi’s head and crashing down upon him. Levi was drenched. _Fuck you, universe, I’m not drunk enough for this._

 

 

So Levi was left to complete the short walk to the supermarket shivering, sodden and seething. His face was contorted into a mask of rage, the face of a man who looked like they could snap at any given moment. God forbid anyone tried to queue jump in front of Levi today, he was having none of it. _I’m fucking ready for whatever you can throw at me today; I’m having none of your shit today, bitch._

 

Levi was not sure what bitch he was referring to, but quite frankly he didn’t give a flying fuck. And that was when Levi reversed his shopping trolley into someone standing behind him. Levi knew he had been in the wrong but he was going to whip around and give someone and earful, because fuck everything, when he face planted into Eren’s chest.

 

“Levi!” The boy exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”

 

“Frolicking with the fucking fairies, what does it look like, shit head?”

 

Eren looked confused. “Levi…how much have you had to drink?”

 

“Yes.”

 

And then Eren started to laugh inexplicably. Levi’s heart would have leapt at hearing that sound once again, but right now he was too cold and too miserable and still too fucking sober.

 

“What’s so funny, brat?”

 

“It-it’s just, yo-ou’re standing there, glaring up at me, soaking wet like an angry garden gnome.”

 

Levi looked at Eren.

 

“Actually, scrap that,” The boy managed between giggles. “You’re too drunk to be a gnome, I think you’re more like a Leprechaun right now.”

 

Levi growled in protest, face starting to heat up in rage, but somehow he couldn’t quite bring himself to want to completely destroy the brat in front of him. Instead, Levi turned on his heel and continued shoving groceries into his cart.

 

“Hey Levi, don’t leave me now!” The brat whined.

 

“Should have thought twice about that before calling me a fucking gnome and Leprechaun then, fucknut.”

 

“But gnomes are cute though.”

 

“I don’t like what your insinuating here.” Levi spluttered, hopping that his sodden hair would conceal his pink ears.

 

Eren was bounding after him, the kid acting like a puppy trying to keep up with its master.

 

“But why are you so wet though?”

 

“Because the universe fucking hates me, that’s why.”

 

They were in the cereal aisle now and Levi needed to get his Cheerio fix. However, the bastard who had stocked the aisle had decided to place Levi’s much needed breakfast and all other hour multipurpose snack at the very top. The short man growled threateningly, hoping that it would cause the box to fall off the shelf in fear into his gaping cart. But no, now Levi was forced to try and jump for the cereals like a bloody child. This seemed to amuse Eren. _It’s alright for you, bastard, you have long legs and arms, you don’t know the struggles I’ve been through. I can’t reach my favourite cereal, do you know what that does to a man?_

 

“Here, let me get that for you.”

 

“You’re so kind, brave knight.” Levi droned sarcastically. “How might I ever repay you?”

 

“I could buy you dinner.”

 

Levi blanched, looking away from Eren, unable to meet his eyes. “Are you sure you haven’t been on the vodka, kid?” He stuttered, trying to retain his cool exterior and hide the love struck fool underneath. _This is not happening. I’m not drunk enough for this._

 

“I’m completely sober, Levi.”

 

Levi’s head snapped up at the mention of his name. Eren was gazing intently at him and Levi couldn’t remember the last time a person had not only looked at Levi, but had really seen him. Usually he was the invisible man, a small nondescript cog in the greater machine which had all the parts but no meaning. But Eren had sat back, paid attention and noticed Levi’s lonely existence and decided that he was worth his time. He, Levi the miser. The rude, blunt, cold man with an abscess heart that had festered from too many gaping wounds left unattended.

 

“I want to take you to dinner. Do you want to go on a date with me?”

 

Levi’s mouth was dry, the permanent bitterness and the foul words that left his cesspool mouth had evaporated from Eren’s warmth, leaving him parched. In his 29 years, words had never failed him, but now, when they really mattered, Levi couldn’t get his tongue and mouth to co ordinate in a sentence.

 

So there they were, Eren and Levi, standing in the middle of a supermarket aisle, with Levi’s mouth flapping like a dying fish. _Smooth moves, fuck face, you don’t want your appalling jaw movements to scare him away, you’ll never get a chance like this again._

 

“Levi…are you okay?” Eren was starting to get concerned from the pallid complexion and strangulated sounds that were coming from Levi. Usually the little man had a witty retort or a snide comeback to everything, so Eren was worried about the lack of abuse he had gotten at his request.

 

“Only if you’re paying.”

 

And Levi had returned.

 

Eren's grin gave the sun a run for its money, nearly blinding Levi in its brightness and warmth.

 

"Alright, it-"

 

"Don't say it."

 

"-It's a date."

 

"I swear to God brat if you start pulling corny shit like that I'll rip off your arms and beat you like a piñata, see if you're so full of crap on the inside."

 

"Levi, are you blushing?"

 

"Fuck off."

 

And so Eren and Levi wandered around the rest of the supermarket bickering like they had been married for years, garnering strange looks from many people. They were an odd site- the enigmatic student and the bedraggled, slightly drunk, angry man, but somehow the chemistry was there, they just worked.

 

When it came to leaving, Eren turned to see Levi unpacking his over laden trolley.

 

"What are you doing?"

 

"What does it fucking look like, dipshit." Levi glowered up at Eren as he tried to balance a myriad of plastic bags on his arm. Eren couldn’t help but notice that Levi’s sodden appearance and rigid arms reminded him strongly of a scarecrow, but he decided to keep that one to himself after the reaction he got from the gnome comparison.

 

"Don't you want to do that when you reach the car?"

 

Levi sighed like a dramatic child. "Yeah...about that."

 

"...You didn't bring a car to go grocery shop? Don't you drive for a living, Levi?"

 

"Don't remind me. I kind of went slightly overboard on the vodka and driving would have been a bad idea so I had to spite myself and walk."

 

"You can't walk home with all of those bags!" Eren cried.

 

"Fucking watch me, brat. There's more to me than just a pretty face, you know."

 

"Let me drive you."

 

Levi paused. On the one hand he hated, despised receiving help of any sorts, Levi prefered fucking up on his own accord thank you very much. _But you'll get to spend more time with Eren, you desperate old man, you know what you're going to choose._

 

"There's no way in hell that all our shopping will fit in your car, thanks to your ridiculous amount of booze."

 

“There’s not that much!” Eren protested. “There’s only enough alcohol to last me for the week!”

 

“You fucking students, do you inhale ethanol or some shit? You’re still not going to get all of our shopping in.”

 

Eren grinned. "We'll get it all in, don’t you worry."

 

And true to his words, Eren had managed to fit all of their shopping into his little Vauxhall Corsa. The boot was dangerously stuffed full and more of the flimsy shopping bags were littered on Eren's back seats.

 

Just as Levi had suspected, Eren's car was a mess. Fucking _teenagers and their inability to fucking clean._ Empty packets of food could be found under every seat, the dashboard held expired tickets and the remains of unidentifiable food substances. Levi didn’t even want to think what was down the sides of the seat...

 

“Levi.” Eren’s voice brought Levi out from his disgusted spiel over the brat’s car.

 

“What.”

 

“Where am I taking you?”

 

Oh right, of course he didn’t know where Levi lived. _Fucking genius of the year, Levi._ He told Eren the directions and they drove off in relative silence for a few minutes. It was peaceful, Levi decided, until Eren decided to ruin the moment.

 

“Hey Levi.”

 

“…yes?”

 

“Thanks for taking me home the over night.”

 

Levi controlled his features, not wanting to give anything away to Eren. “That’s okay, you were even more out of it than the time before.”

 

Eren chuckled nervously. “I remember us singing in the car, but everything’s kind of hazy after that.”

 

_Shit he remembers the singing. But not being carried up to his room, thank fuck._

 

Levi snorted. “I’m not surprised, you three pretty much passed out in the back of my cab.” He decided to keep his eyes fixed on the road, hoping that Eren would end the conversation there. But oh no, the fucker couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

 

“I spoke to Mikasa the morning after though.” _Well, fuck._ “She said you carried me up to my room.”

 

Levi swallowed, trying to slow down his rapidly increasing pulse. “Well, I kind of had to, brat.” He laughed it off, hoping to try and conceal how nervous he as about the entire situation to Eren. “There was no way I could just dump you on the side of the road and drive off. You and your friends were just lucky Reiner was nearby to tell me where you lived.”

 

Eren balked. “Shit, I didn't realise you actually had to carry me up 7 flights of stairs, I thought Mikasa was kidding.”

 

“You’re a fucking lump, brat, but Reiner had to carry Jean and Armin, so feel sorry for him.”

 

“Reiner’s hench and has muscles bigger than some European countries, trust me, he was totally fine with carrying them.”

 

Mercifully Eren had reached the Levi’s block of flats and the two proceeded to start unloading Levi’s shopping. Levi was about to start the perilous trek up to his flat when he realised that Eren was still holding some of his shopping bags.

 

“Put those down, shit head, your bags are still in the car.”

 

“I’m trying to help you, asshole, now lead the way to your cavern of darkness.”

 

Levi narrowed his eyes, but it seemed that Eren was immune to the withering gaze already. “Cavern of darkness?”

 

“Well, your sense of humour is pretty dark, so I assumed that you lived in some sort of dingy lair where you plotted to destroy the world or some shit.”

 

Levi kicked the door open with his feet, arms full of shopping, awkwardly trying to keep it open for the shuffling pack mule behind him.

 

“I thought gnomes were friendly and lived in gardens.” Levi retorted.

 

“I guess you’re an evil gnome then.”

 

Levi took the stairs three at a time; his short legs were deceptively powerful when it suited. Eren huffed behind him, unable to see behind the mound of shopping cradled in his arms. The young man staggered up the stairs, bashing into the wall a few times and nearly falling back down the stairs.

 

Levi turned and sighed at the disaster behind him. “Remind me why I agreed to go on a date with you.”

 

Eren peeked his head around the obnoxiously bright shopping bags, his eyes sparkled with mischief. “Because my dashing good looks and charm are irresistible.”

 

“And yet you are stuck with an evil gnome.” Levi snorted.

 

“A _hot_ evil gnome.”

 

Levi felt his face start to resemble a tomato.

 

“And you didn’t deny I have dashing good looks.”

 

 “Hurry up, fuck face, I’d like to get to my flat before nightfall.” He managed to stutter out, continuing up the stairs.

 

Although Levi couldn’t see Eren, he could practically here him grinning behind him.

 

They finally reached Levi’s flat after Eren had nearly tripped over and broke his neck countless times. Levi was relieved to chuck his shopping on the floor and stretch his aching back out, remembering that he was no longer a teenager and middle age was breathing down his neck.

 

After several attempts at trying to open the door as Levi’s damn key wouldn’t fit in the lock properly, the boys shuffled into Levi’s flat and gracefully dumped his shopping by his kitchen area.  Levi noticed Eren was subtly trying to look at his flat and not seem too intrusive about the whole arrangement, seeming to understand Levi’s need for privacy.

 

“It’s okay to look, brat, I know it’s pretty messy at the moment  and not a cavern of darkness as you expected, but I know it’s home.”

 

Eren stared at Levi. “Messy?” He screeched incredulously. “Your flat is immaculate! You have such a demanding job yet somehow your flat is spotless. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

 

Levi felt his chest swell with pride, chuffed that someone could come in and recognise his cleaning excellence. “I’ll admit it’s pretty tidy, but I didn’t get a chance to finish off the cleaning as I needed vodka and shopping so…”

 

“You say I’m bad but you don’t see me getting drunk in the middle of the day.”

 

Levi scoffed. “I’m not drunk, some of us have slightly more restraint than others.”

 

“That’s because you’ve had a few millennia to practice.”

 

“Fuck off.”

 

Even though they had literally just come through the door, Levi thought it was proper to show Eren out of his flat. Before he left, Eren turned round to face Levi.

 

“Well…” Eren asked, starting to rub his neck. “Ar-are you still interest in dinner?”

 

“Yeah…I’d love to go.”

 

 Both of their eyes widened- Eren’s in delight at Levi’s interest in going, whilst Levi was mortified at his choice of words. _Shitshitshit, don’t come on too strong, don’t appear too desperate and needy, which you may be, but Eren doesn’t need to know that._

 

“Great, fantastic!” Eren chuckled nervously, shuffling slightly on the spot. “Uh…I mean, when are you free?”

 

Levi thought for a minute, mentally going through his hectic work schedule. “Let’s see…it can’t be a weekend at all, that’s when I make the most money. I have got Tuesday night off next week.”

 

Levi thought that Eren’s face was going to break from the power of his smile. “I’m free then too, shall I pick you up at 7?”

 

“I’m glad you’re the one doing to the driving,” Levi replied. “Take it as penance for the amount of times I’ve had to drive your sorry ass around.”

 

“But I pay you to drive me.”

 

“Is my presence not payment enough?”

 

“I’m sure you can find other ways to pay me.” Eren waggled his eyebrows.

 

Levi could feel his face heating up, much to Eren’s amusment.

 

“I’m sorry, who’s the cranberry fucknut now then?” Eren laughed.

 

“Give me your number before I shove you back down the stairs, brat.” Levi growled.

 

The pair exchanged their numbers, and with an awkward goodbye and promises of his return, Eren left the building. Levi shut the door carefully; the clunk of the lock mechanism was silent, as he did not want the loud noise to shatter the illusion that he was in.

 

Eren asked Levi on a date.

 

_Eren asked Levi on a date._

 

He turned to see the sorrowful hoover still stuck in the centre of the room, abandoned and looking for refuge. But Levi did not care; his mind was fixated on an entirely different matter, one that concerned sea green eyes and when he would be able to stare into them again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boot- trunk of a car, thought I'd better clear that one up just in case people didn't know.


	5. Breakdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luck never did tend play on Levi's side

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was only ever intended to be a short few paragraphs at the start of the next one, but naturally it grew into something else, so here we are.  
> I want to thank humanitys-strongest-eyebrows.tumblr.com for the fic rec I received this week! I was truly amazed that my stupid little work had made it onto the list alongside some of my favourite fan works, so I may have fangirled ever so slightly.   
> Once again, thanks to all of my subscribers, bookmarkers and to all those who are kind enough to leave kudos and comments, you guys are wonderful.  
> As ever, feel free to stalk me on my tumblr: levis-dildo.tumblr.com  
> Enjoy!

When Levi and Eren had set the time for their date, Levi was under the pretences that he would be able to finish his shift rather swiftly and have plenty of time to get ready for his evening escapades.

 

But as per usual, things never turned out they way Levi intended them too.

 

He was on the way back from a fairly standard run to the train station when his cab decided to stutter its final breaths, before dying a tragic death in the middle of the main road. The death of Levi’s trusty cab was mourned by the baleful shrieks of commuters’ horns as they swerved past the corpse of Levi’s income, mouthing rude and somewhat uncalled for insults through the windows of their passing cars. Levi opted to ignore the angry drivers and chose to rest his face on his steering wheel, resulting in a strangulated shriek of the car’s horn as its torture endured.

 

He couldn’t fucking believe it. He had broken down in the middle of the fucking road in the middle of the fucking city on his date night with Eren.

 

_Fuck me sideways with a cactus. This is not happening._

 

 

Levi was snapped out of his inner turmoil by a particularly near miss of a commuter whooshing past, causing his taxi to shake and shudder from the frightening speed of the driver.

 

_Holy shit I need to do something. I’ll run home if I have to. Fuck the taxi, fuck the job and hopefully fuck Eren._

 

 

With shaking hands, Levi pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number. After the first ring, the caller picked up and he was met with the usual shriek from the other end.

 

_Leeeeeeeviiiiii!_

 

He rolled his eyes, even though he was well aware the person he was calling could not see him. “Hanji, are you busy right now?”

 

On the other end of the line, Levi could hear muffled banging and clanking and prayed Hanji was not up to her usual activities.

 

_I’ve always got time for my little Levi, how can I help, oh grumpy one?_

 

“My cab has broken down in the middle of Trost.”

 

_Levi! I told you that you needed to come in for a service ages ago, and now look where that’s gotten you!”_ Hanji scolded.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know, I’ve been kind of busy of late Hanj, I’m sorry.” Levi sighed, massaging his temples in rhythm to the flashing hazard lights on his cab.

 

_I’m bringing Bean now, give me 10 minutes. Text me roughly where you are and I’ll come and find you._

 

And true to Hanji’s words, she was there in 10 minutes. Hanji was Levi’s oldest and dearest friend, and conveniently his mechanic also. Why have friends if you can’t use them, after all. They had grown up together, fought together, cried together and seen sides of each other that were not readily available for public viewing. What was surprising about their friendship was that they were polar opposites. Hanji was a loud, boisterous person who had little regard to personal space and privacy. On any other person these qualities were a sure way of getting Levi’s hackles to rise and calculate at least 20 different ways of killing you with the closest household object he could find. And yet somehow Hanji had begrudgingly wormed her way into Levi’s heart and now her quirky and alarmingly erratic ways were nearly endearing to him.

 

Nearly being the key word in that sentence.

 

Hanji parked her battered tow truck in front of Levi’s cab. For some reason the grown woman felt the need to name her mangy, rusting truck ‘Bean’, possibly because her underdeveloped mind found the name cute or simply because she just wanted another way to piss Levi off.

 

“Levi!” Hanji shrieked as she recklessly leapt out of her truck, paying no attention to the oncoming traffic engulfing them both.

 

_That moron is going to get herself killed one of these days if she keeps going like that._ Levi sighed as he got out of his cab towards the manic woman who was currently trying to attach the archaic looking wench to Levi’s cab. _Note to self: do not mention Eren in front of Hanji, you would like to go out tonight un-probed and mentally intact thank you very much._

 

 

Before Levi could offer a greeting or an insult (both meant virtually the same thing in Levi’s terms) he was hoisted into the air and smothered, ears being deafened by the alarming squeal of excitement from the supposedly adult woman.

 

“Levi, it’s been too long!”

 

“Hanji, if you hadn’t had your balls hacked off I’d be shoving them down your throat to stop you _from fucking shrieking down my ear_ , shithead.”

 

Hanji just laughed at the growling protest coming from the small man engulfed by her powerful arms, and delicately put him back on the floor.

 

“Nice to see you too, little man, how have you been?”

 

Levi rolled his eyes. “We can catch up with this shit in the car, in case you haven’t forgotten we’re in the middle of the fucking road right now, moron.”

 

Hanji bounded back towards Bean, patting her truck like a dog on the way back up to her seat like a dog. _I keep some weird fucking company._ “Do you need a boost up to the passenger seat?”

 

“Fuck off.”

 

Levi felt like he hadn’t made too much of a fool of himself as he scrambled into the front cab of the truck, cursing his short legs once again. Hanji had promised to drop Levi off at his flat before taking his cab back to her garage for a check over. He prayed that nothing irreversible had happened to his taxi, as he really did not want to be forced into using one of Erwin’s replacement cabs, as he shuddered to think of the germs that were probably festering, lying in wait for the poor, unfortunate souls who had been cursed to enter their breeding grounds.

 

“Thanks for picking me up so quickly.” Levi offered, feeling like he should attempt at being nice to one of his only friends, who was unknowingly helping Levi out more than they realised.

 

“It’s fine, Levi.” Hanji replied, thankfully paying attention to the road for once. “I was just finishing off a job at the garage, I’m more than happy to help you out.”

 

“How are things with Moblit.”

 

A dopey grin crossed Hanji’s face, a look that Levi was now all too familiar with. _If there’s someone in your life it’s like you’ve had a partial lobotomy or some shit, why do people bother with falling in love?_ “They’re fantastic.” She sighed. “Things are going really, really well. I think he might propose soon.”

 

Hanji had met Moblit in somewhat traumatic circumstances. Moblit had broken down in the middle of the highway about five years ago, before nearly getting run over by the very same tow truck that he had called for. Hanji had apologised by insisting that she bought him dinner and the rest was history. Moblit had the patience of a saint to put up with living with Hanji for so long, he had learnt to deal with her total lack of regard for personal safety, her impromptu ramblings and passionate outbursts would leave most sane men a gibbering mess on the floor. But not Moblit, that man deserved a medal or something.

 

“I expect to be Maid of Honour.” That was Levi’s way of saying ‘congratulations, I’m happy for you’. Hanji knew this of course, smiling at her best friend.

 

“We can’t have you outshining the bride, Levi.”

 

Levi snorted. “That’s true, you know I’d steal the show, strutting down the aisle.”

 

“You couldn’t be flower girl either; you’d probably shove all the petals down Nile’s throat and try and bash his head in with the basket.”

 

“I’m offended you think I’d be so obvious at trying to bump your asshole co worker off.”

 

Levi was a fool to think that Hanji would happily remain talking about her own life for the entire journey. But of course, she turned on Levi, eyes glinting dangerously behind her glasses. _Oh shit no, don’t say anything, Levi, don’t give her something to play with._

 

“So Levi…is there anyone in your life right now?”

 

_Conceal, don’t feel Levi, don’t let them know._

 

Hanji’s head recoiled slightly in shock. _Fuckfuckfuckfuck._ “Levi…” She began cautiously. “Are you…blushing?”

 

_Well now they know. There is still time to save this._

 

“It’s wind burn from standing out in the rain for too long the other day.”

 

“Bullshit!” Hanji squawked. “I CAN’T ACTUALLY BELIEVE THIS, THERE IS SOMEONE ISN’T THERE!”

 

“Hanji, PUT YOUR HANDS BACK ON THE FUCKING WHEEL OF THE CAR, BEFORE YOU KILL US IN A FIERY INFERNO!”

 

Hanji looked down in surprise at her hands, which now had Levi’s arms ensnared in their vice-like grip, the steering wheel left completely forgotten. She released her prisoner; Levi rubbed his arms, trying to regain some circulation back into them again.

 

“Sorry about that.” Hanji chuckled nervously. “I got a little bit excited there, it’s just I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush before.”

 

Levi sighed; his hands were now beginning to become a permanent fixture to his temples. _It’s amazing I haven’t gone prematurely grey with this woman yet. I shouldn’t tell her anything, you don’t tell people things, little man, that’s just how you do things._ He turned to look at Hanji, who was giving him her best puppy dog eyes in an attempt to spill his little secret. _A good try, but not as good as Eren. Fuck, stop thinking about Eren again._ He really needed to stop thinking about the kid so often; it was becoming an unhealthy obsession, especially since they weren’t even an item or even been or a bloody date yet. _Maybe the reason you don’t tell people things, fuck face, is because you’ve never had anything worth telling before. Hanji is your best friend; don’t lose her because you can’t open your big mouth when it counts._

 

 

“He…he’s called Eren.”

 

Levi kept his gaze firmly forward as Hanji nearly swerved off the road.

 

“Tell .Me .Everything.” Hanji whispered, the insane glint had returned to her eyes once more. _She’s wasted as a mechanic. If I wake up one morning to find that Hanji’s gone rogue and wants to blow the moon up with a fucking laser, I won’t be surprised. Actually, you’ll probably be her fucking side kick, knowing your luck. You wouldn’t let her put herself into danger by herself, and you wouldn’t miss a chance to fuck some shit up, you sadistic old man._

 

 

“He’s so young Hanji, he’s 19 and a student. But he’s so full of life and happiness and he radiates pure energy that’s infectious. He has this big, stupid grin that’s blinding and this mop of hair that looks like it’s never even seen a comb. His eyes though, Hanj, they’re something else. They say eyes are the doorway to the soul, and I never believed it until now. They’re so bright and so goddamn _alive_ that I can’t stop thinking about them. They’re neither blue nor green, just a mix of everything pure and good and _wonderful_ about life. I don’t know what to do with myself, Hanj, I can’t remember how I used to sit or breathe or think before I met him, and now after he came barreling into my life I can’t imagine one without him. I haven’t even been on a date with him yet, Hanj, and I know I’ve fallen for him so badly.”

 

 The words just gushed out of Levi’s mouth, like an unstoppable tide of longing that had finally destroyed the bitter barriers put up from years of loneliness and self-inflicted solitude. Usually when Levi rambled on he regretted opening up directly afterwards, yearning to turn back time so that the words never escaped him and therefore never left him alone, out in the open, vulnerable. But this time was different. Those words needed to be said aloud, to confirm that Eren Jaeger was not in fact an illusion, conjured up from the desperate depths of Levi’s troubled mind. Putting his heart into words and uttering them aloud gave Levi a flickering of an emotion he rarely had the chance to glimpse- hope. His future may not be as dismal and as desolate as Levi had always believed. If he continued to feel like his heart might burst from his chest and soar beyond the clouds into the great unknown with every stuttering breath he took when he was around Eren, then perhaps he might be okay.

 

Perhaps he might one day be happy.

 

Sniffling. Sobs stifled into silent chest wracks. Hands gripped tightly on the wheel.

 

“Hanji…are you crying?”

 

“No.” Hanji sobbed. “Okay, yeah, maybe a little.”

 

“Are you allergic to my sappiness or are you seriously dying right now? I must warn you, my CPR is rusty at best as I tend to refuse to do mouth-to-mouth, naturally.”

 

“No, you bastard, it’s just…I’ve never heard you sound like that before.” She regarded him out of the side of her eye, her cheeks stained from tears. “For all the years I’ve known you I’ve never heard you talk so passionately and with so much _hope,_ Levi. I never thought you’d have this shot at happiness.”

 

They sat in tentative silence for a few minutes, both contemplating Levi’s speech and his sudden change in character.

 

“I’m going on a date with him tonight.”

 

Hanji nearly swerved off the road again for the second time that day. Levi was not worried by the primal shriek that left Hanji’s body, nothing she did surprised him anymore.

 

“Levi…we need to get you home right away!”

 

“Hanji it’s fi-“Levi couldn’t finish his sentence as the sudden acceleration of Hanji’s truck, as she slammed her foot down hard on the accelerator.

 

“No, Levi!” Hanji screamed. “You can’t be late, you can’t miss this chance!”

 

“He’s picking me up at 7, shitty glasses, don’t get us fucking killed, I swear to God, Hanji.”

 

“THAT’S STILL ONLY 2 HOURS TO GET READY, WHAT IF SOMETHING GOES WRONG, HMMM? WHAT IF YOU AREN’T READY IN TIME WHEN HE TRIES TO PICK YOU UP?”

 

Levi knew better than to argue with Hanji when she was like that, it was better for her just to burn the crazy out of her system and let her wear herself out, rather than to rile her further by trying to inhibit her erratic decisions. So he let Hanji drive like a maniac, hoping that she was as thorough at looking over her own truck as she was when it came to her customer’s ones. _You can’t let her meet Eren for a while at least, Levi, she’ll freak and try and adopt him or something so that he can’t ever leave you completely._ He smiled as he thought of his companion. _She shows her love for people in weird ways, just like you, little man, just like you._

 

 

Amazingly they arrived at Levi’s building in one piece, his cab somehow still attached to the back of Hanji’s truck. As he turned to leave, Hanji gripped his arm, yanking him back into her truck.

 

“Levi, I just…I’m so happy for you, good luck.”

 

He smiled up at his wild, unyielding, _wonderful_ friend. “Thanks Hanji, I’m happy for me too.”

 

And as he bounded towards the door, a renewed vigour in his step, he could hear Hanji shrieking behind him.

 

“Don’t get him pregnant.”

 

“How did you make it to 30, Hanji?” He hollered back. Hanji replied by honking her horn before driving away, a blessing towards his first ever date with someone he truly cared about.

 


	6. Pinocchio innuendos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi and Eren's first date, in which Levi cocks up a lot and feels incompetent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was hard to write, but alcohol is the lubricant to the engine of life, so there's a new chapter.  
> Point of Interest passed the 1000 hits and 100 kudos milestone a few days ago, thank you so much to everyone who's enjoyed my little fic.   
> The weirdest part of this all is seeing comments and kudos from authors that you've admired their work for a long time. Still not quite over that. Hiding inner fan girl.  
> As ever, find me on levis-dildo.tumblr.com, I love hearing from you guys.  
> Enjoy :)

If there was a hose pipe ban again that summer, Levi would be more than happy to take the blame for it. He’d lost count of how many times he had attempted to rinse away the invisible filth on his skin in the shower. No matter how hard he scrubbed and lathered at his skin, he could never quite shake that feeling of not being _quite_ clean enough to be even around the perfect aura of Eren Jaeger. Levi would exit his shower, skin pink and screaming from the relentless torture it had endured, to find that he would be sweating again immediately, cool beads of sweat tracing markings of panic and fear on his furrowed brows.

 

_Fucking filthy little shit can’t stop sweating shaking Eren Eren Eren will be here soon and you’ll be filthy and stinking and he’ll-_ Levi crouched down in the shower, hands placed firmly in between the palms of his shaking hands, the shower beating down a barrage of worry against his arched back. _Get a grip, Levi. Relax. Breathe. Just breathe. Eren wants to see you. Eren wants to fucking see you, you nasty son of a bitch, so you’d better be ready and not cowering in the shower like the pathetic little fuck you are._

 

He forced himself upright; the shower droplets now reminded him more of comforting hands, caressing his slackened face as he tried to calm his breathing. Not that Levi knew what that felt like of course, but he liked to let his imagination run wild without the shackles from his past holding him back.

 

Levi let out the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding. The anxiety was still gnawing away inside of him, churning his stomach, sending his mind into a dizzying array of chaos and nerves. _Fuck this shit, I need to get a fucking hold of myself._

 

 

And before he could fully comprehend what he was doing, Levi felt the familiar words rolling off his tongue, the rhythm challenging his unsteady heart.

 

“Let’s get down to business, to defeat the huns.” He mumbled quietly at first, still trying to quench the nerves at the pit of his stomach.

 

“Did they send me daughters, when I asked for sons?” Braver by the minute, Levi started to belt out the classic song that somehow always managed to get him motivated for anything.

 

“Once you find your centre, you are sure to win.” He was now hollering at the top of his lungs. He was Levi, nearly 30 and shouting out Disney songs in the shower to give him some confidence for a sodding _date_.

 

“WE MUST BE SWIFT AS A COURSING RIVER.”

 

When the chorus kicked in, Levi felt like he could take down the entire Mongolian army if he wished to, because he had to-

 

“BE A MAN!”

 

That voice did not belong to Levi.

 

  _HOLY FUCKING SHIT WHAT NO WHAT MY HOUSE I LIVE ALONE I WILL END YOU INTRUDER I’LL RIP YOUR SKIN OFF AND WEAR IT TO THE MILAN FASHION WEEK SO HELP ME GO-_

 

He hastily wrapped a towel around himself, wishing not to expose himself to a possible burglar; Levi had slightly more class than that. He poked his head around the bathroom door, fully prepared to go into battle, as Levi still felt he had the entire strength of the Chinese army behind him.

 

Instead, he got Eren Jaeger sitting on the sofa.

 

“Jesus fuck…” Levi exhaled loudly, “How…why are you in my apartment?”

 

“Have you seen the time? I came to pick you up for our date and you wouldn’t answer the door or your phone, but then I saw you’d left it unlocked. So I came in, wondering if you were okay and I could hear you singing and so…here I am!”

 

Levi couldn’t believe that kid. Here he was, dressed all suave and sophisticated, but here he was, sitting cross-legged on Levi’s sofa with his trademark big eyes and bright smile, looking up at Levi like he was some fucking overgrown puppy or something.

 

_Oh shit, the time._

 

It was only 7:15, but Levi was kind of only wearing a towel and he had no idea of where they were actually going.

 

“I’m sorry, shit, I didn’t realise what the time was.” He babbled, scurrying quickly to his bedroom. “I’d better get dressed quickly…”

 

Eren laughed. “Yeah, I think you’d scare people if you went out only in a towel.”

 

Levi could feel his face burning. _Fuckfuckfuck I’m practically naked shit holy fucking shit this is not how a first date is meant to go. I’m late, singing Disney songs and butt naked to boot._

 

 

“Not that I mind of course, but I doubt they’d serve you anywhere.”

 

If Levi thought his face was hot before, it was now on fucking fire, as Eren had set ablaze his last ounce of self respect and was now dancing around the burning embers in a pagan sacrifice. _Fuck. Everything._

 

After getting dressed in record time, Levi was ready to go on his first real proper actual date. Usually, Levi would not have let Eren open the car door for him because he was not _a whiney little bitch, but a grown ass man, goddamn you,_ but he was so nervous about fucking it up, he didn’t  trust himself in personal situations. Levi slid into the passenger seat, noticing how the car floor was suddenly visible since the last time he’d been in there. _The little shit has cleaned for you, little man, oh man, he knows what you like, for the love of God don’t pop a boner._

 

“So where are we headed tonight?” Levi tried, not sure how to talk to Eren now they were doing proper adult things in a proper adult situation under their own adult choices, not drunk in a supermarket or drunk in the back of a cab.

 

“I've got a reservation at a restaurant.” Eren replied “I know it’s the cheesy first date kind of thing, but I figured you’d be hungry and it would be a good chance to actually talk properly.”

 

_Jesus on a stick, I’m being taken to a restaurant on a date by a cute guy. Christmas came fucking early this year. Ho ho ho, motherfuckers._

 

Come to think of it. Levi couldn't remember the last time someone brought him dinner. He’d gone out for food with Hanji and Erwin on the occasion over the past decade, but they’d always split the cost, like how all sensible, boring people are meant to do. He had a strange recollection of someone buying him fast food in the hazy past, but he wasn’t sure if McDonalds constituted as actual food or not.

 

“No, that sounds like a great idea. I’m fucking starving, I could eat anything right now.”

 

Eren slowly turned to look at him, arching an eyebrow, his smirk taunting Levi.

 

“No…that’s not…if you’re going to be like this all evening then I’m leaving now. I will fucking barrel roll out of this moving vehicle into oncoming traffic and cause a huge fucking pile up as I hulk out and destroy every goddamn car that so tries and runs me over with my bare hands, if you keep making innuendos.”

 

“What, I wasn't suggesting anything!”

 

“Pinocchio, your nose is going to crack the fucking windscreen if you keep up with that shit. Sometimes I forget how young you are, brat.”

 

“Hey, I’m not that young!” Eren protested.

 

“Pinocchio, stop with your shit, you goddamn little bitch, I’d like to get to the restaurant now and eat, thank you very much.”

 

Eren huffed moodily. “I can’t believe you sometimes.”

 

“And the point for that round goes to Levi.”

 

“You could say…that Levi…’scored’.” Eren waggled his eyebrows, looking like he was having a mild stroke.

 

“…You’d better not have the child locks on, bitch tits, as you’re nearly as disastrous as the fucking pile up I’m about to cause.”

 

Miraculously Eren and Levi arrived at the restaurant in one piece. They were a little later than anticipated due to Levi’s shower marathon, but the table was still there, ready and waiting. Eren was not sure on what sort of food Levi liked, so he decided Italian would be a good idea, as his student mind could not comprehend how someone could _not_ like pizza.

 

The restaurant was just outside of Trost, meaning it was slightly quieter than its inner city competitors and the prices were less extortionate. Eren wanted to treat Levi tonight, but he did have only small budget to live on, so there would be no five-course extravaganza for the pair.  The restaurant had a rustic feel to it- the walls were adorned with old posters, their swirling scripture in Italian, incomprehensible to the majority of its patrons. The wooden chairs and tables matched  with the framing and ceiling- a wooden exoskeleton protecting the heart of the place. The dim lighting made Levi initially think that the owners were too cheap to afford proper lighting, but as he was sat down at his table with Eren, he couldn't help but wonder that it had something to do with _romance,_ that constant anomaly, again.

 

Their waiter for the evening brought over a candle for their table, which irked Levi, as it would act as another goddamn barrier between him and Eren. He was about to express his hatred at that fucking candle that was sitting on the table so fucking smugly, like _yeah bitches, I’m a fiery point of cockblocking, what ya gonna do, tough guy?,_ before Levi saw how the light of the candle danced in Eren’s eyes, framing his face with a calm, orange glow. Maybe the candle could stay for a little while longer.

 

They made small talk until their food arrive, the burly waiter planting a plate of spaghetti and meatballs in front of Eren, causing Levi to chuckle slightly.

 

“What’s so funny?” Asked the confused brunet.

 

“Spaghetti, eh? You’re not going to go all Lady and the Tramp on me, are you?”

 

Eren blinked.

 

“Wait…don’t tell me you haven’t seen Lady and the Tramp?”

 

Eren looked sheepishly down at his plate of food. “No…I haven’t seen it…”

 

“You…you haven’t seen Lady and the Tramp?”

 

Eren shook his head.

 

“Jesus Christ, kid. Lady and the Tramp is a classic!” Levi started off on his tangent, when he was talking about something he loved, it was hard to stop him. “The spaghetti kiss scene is one of the most iconic animated scenes in history! How have you not seen Lady in the Tramp? Did you mother not love you or something?”

 

“My mother’s dead.” Eren deadpanned.

 

Levi paled, the little colour that could withstand his bitterness fled from his face.  _I've fucked up bad._

 

“Holy shit, oh fuck, I’m really sorry Eren,” Levi babbled, hands clenching and unclenching nervously on his cutlery.

 

Eren was still silent, looking pensively at his food.

 

Levi coughed, trying to put his feelings into words, and to fight that tide of anxiety that had returned. “I-I say I lot of stupid shit, if you haven’t noticed.” He mumbled. “I mean, most of what comes out of my mouth is nasty and horrible and- and it’s not what I intend to say, I've just gotten so used to…” Levi trailed off, not really sure where he was going with his little apology.

 

A small smile tugged at Eren’s lips, and Levi felt some of the nausea wash away from him. “No…it’s fine, honestly, I know you didn't mean anything by it.”

 

A pregnant silence began between the two, Levi not trusting anything to come out of his mouth ever again.  But to his surprise, Eren spoke up. “She died when I was nine.” He began, speaking so softly that only Levi could hear him as he stared into the candlelight. “She was diagnosed with a few months to live just after my birthday. Cancer, of course, as it usually tends to be these days. I was thankful that I never lost her in a freak accident or something, so I could come to terms with her not being there for me anymore. But instead I just had to watch her fade out, watch as the liveliest, brightest person I knew became this…this _husk_ , gaunt and bent over, her every motion, movement, breath shadowed by the insensitive clunks of that fucking oxygen tank.”

 

Eren sighed, closing his eyes, lost in his memories. “The other problem with dying slowly is that your memories of that person get replaced by ones you don’t wish to remember. When I think of my mum, I don’t think about the stew she used to make when it had been snowing, or how the crease between her eyebrows appeared when I got in trouble at school for fighting. I first think of her coughing blood over her shaking hands, or when she became too weak to climb up the stairs that we made her bed up downstairs and how I would sit at the end of her bed to ‘stand guard’, because even until the end I just wanted to protect her.”

 

Levi didn’t know what to say. His heart _hurt_ for the boy, and he couldn't think of words to say to make the smile return to his face and to make his burden just that little bit easier. Instead, Levi’s fingers slowly intertwined with Eren’s on top of the table, his thumb softly caressing Eren’s in a steady motion.

 

“Oh God,” Eren chuckled nervously, trying to hide the pain in his chest. “I’m sorry, that’s not the sort of thing to be bringing up on a date.”

 

“Don’t apologise, I’m sorry she died when you were so young.” Levi murmured, gazing softly into Eren’s eyes, hoping to convey the emotions he felt but was unable to express. “And I’m trying so hard not to say some clichéd recycled bullshit that you haven’t heard so many times.”

 

Eren snorted at that. “Yeah, people do tend to say the same thing about death. ‘She would be so proud of you’, ‘she’ll always be with you’, ‘she wouldn't want to see you upset’.”

 

“And you can’t say ‘kindly go fuck yourselves with a plunger, as it seems you’re full of shit.”

 

Eren’s chortles rung throughout the restaurant. People on the opposite tables stared at the pair, possibly from the laughter that was breaking up their boring lives, or the crude language that kept spouting from the shorter man, as they had apparently never heard such offensive words before. For some it could have even been the fact that there were two men holding hands and staring lovingly into each other’s eyes, because god forbid two men going on a date and having a relationship, it was completely unheard of. All three of the things were totally unacceptable in such a rigid society, how dare you express your emotions in the impersonal climate that humans had adapted to. But Levi didn't care about what the people around him thought; he only had eyes for the laughing boy in front of him. None of it mattered, he’d made Eren laugh.

 

 And as the student wiped away some of the tears of mirth that were threatening to break away from his bright blue eyes, Levi had the best or possibly worst epiphany he’d ever had. _I’m falling hard for this boy and there’s nothing I can do to stop it._

 

 

“I’m glad you find me so amusing.” The shorter man smirked, trying to hide the pride he felt from making Eren happy. _I never make anyone happy. I never make anyone happy. I never make anyone happy. But Eren is happy. I think Eren is happy anyway. I hope Eren is happy._

 

 

“You-you are hilarious, Levi.” Levi blushed when Eren said his name between laughs, _don’t pop a boner at the dinner table, Casanova, he just said your fucking name. Nothing special._ “It’s-it’s the fact that you can go from swearing like a sailor and being so goddamn _prickly_ about everything, and then I find you singing Mulan in the shower at the top of your lungs.”

 

“Hey!” Levi cried indignantly. “Don’t knock Mulan.”

 

“I wasn’t, it’s a great film, Mulan always reminded me of my sister.”

 

This information was new to Levi. “I didn’t realise you had a sister.”

 

“Really? You must have met Mikasa when you brought me home that night.”

 

“Mikasa’s your sister?” Levi asked incredulously.

 

“…There is a thing called adoption.”

 

_Ah_ “…That would explain a few things…”

 

“Oh my God Levi…yes, I have an adopted sister, of course we look nothing alike.”

 

They’d both finished their mains at this point and had opted to split a tiramisu for dessert. Eren took the pleasure of stealing some of the pudding directly off of Levi’s spoon and putting it straight into his shit-eating grin of a mouth before Levi could retaliate to the unnecessary and downright uncalled for attack. Levi resisted the urge to throw his spoon directly at the brat’s face.  

 

“I did meet her when I dropped you round. She was suspicious to why you were shirtless. I did think she was going to kill me at one point.”

 

“Yeah…she gave me an interrogation when I was conscious enough to string words together. We are really close, but she does tend to be overprotective of me at times.”

 

There had never been anyone in Levi’s life that had maternal instincts over him. The closest person to a mother that Levi had was probably Hanji, but her reckless nature and thirst for adventure usually meant that when Levi got in trouble, she’d be the one backing him up in a fight, screaming insults at whoever dared to attack her Levi, rather than preventing the chaos. Not exactly traditional protective instincts, but Hanji had an odd way of showing her affection after all.

 

They continued to talk on about nothing, oblivious to the other customers trickling out of the restaurant, until they were the only patrons left. Eren paid, much to Levi’s protests, but that kid had an angry glare when he so wished to and Levi didn’t feel like pushing his luck further with Eren than he already had done.

 

The cold night air nipped at their faces as they left the restaurant. Levi then realised that his hand had been firmly linked with Eren’s ever since they got up from their table. This brought a rare, giddy smile to Levi’s face; he was not used to physical contact with people that was this intimate. _I think I could get used to this_ he sighed, looking up at the stars shyly peeking out from behind the clouds. He rarely saw the stars in the city; they were usually hiding, fearful of the world beneath them. But they were coming out of hiding tonight for them, showing to the world that they were still there, still shining underneath their barriers.

 

“What are you smiling at, Levi?” Eren asked softly, fixing the shorter man with an intense gaze behind his hooded eyelids.

 

“I’m just…happy, that’s all.”

 

Happy. That was a rarely used word in Levi’s vocabulary. He tended to shy away from such a simple word which held so much meaning, so much depth. But with Eren, it had just rolled casually off of the tip of his tongue, right into place.

 

And when Eren grinned down at Levi, he truly did feel happy. It had been a long time coming, but he felt content, Levi felt then that he had a place in the universe. And Levi liked that feeling an awful lot.

 

The ride back to Levi’s flat was filled with a blissful silence- not the kind of awkward, _holy fuck I’ve fucked up here, ground swallow me whole_ kind of silence, but the content kind, where words do not need to be exchanged to express your current emotional state to the other person. Levi was happy. Eren was happy. Words would not help the moment. The only sound was Eren shifting the gears, the odd car whooshing past, the steady, even breathing of the two men inside.

 

Hands joined together once more, Levi did not notice the pungent stench of piss outside his building as he usually did. Eren had to shorten his steps slightly so as to not drag the shorter man behind him. When they got to his flat, Levi fumbling with the key slightly, they turned and faced each other nervously. It wasn’t like they’d spent the last few hours together or that they were both grown men, however Levi and Eren stood there, trying not to trip over their tongues as they attempted to formulate a few basic sentences.

 

“Thanks for taking me out, I- I had a great time.”

 

Levi suddenly realised with a mixture of great delight and fear that Eren was close to him, rather close indeed, close enough to-

 

“Yeah, I enjoyed myself too.”

 

Awkward silence. Unsaid words like a barrier between the two, hanging thick in the air. They were so painfully close and Levi was unsure of what to do, everything was so new, so raw and so confusing to his poor, aching heart that couldn’t function properly when Eren was even close to him, so when their bodies were practically touching, it thumped and flipped and cried out in pain so that Levi couldn’t think. He could barely breath, pulse threatening to leave his body for good, breathing hitched, heads moving closer together in a collision, anxiety and fear building up and rising, rising in direct proportion to the proximity of their faces and lips and-

 

Eren and Levi kissed. It was slow and tentative and delicate- both men afraid of so many different things which somehow didn’t seem to matter anymore when their lips touched together. Eren’s arms hovered awkwardly at first before settling on Levi’s waist, whilst Levi’s hands clutched at Eren’s shirt front, standing on the tips of his toes.

 

When the kiss ended, they stayed with their foreheads still pushed together, bodies pressed close, their light breaths synchronized to one another.

 

“I’d better get going.” Eren whispered, sounding regretful at having to leave.

 

“I’ll see you later then.” Levi sighed, not wanting Eren to leave just quite yet.

 

The cold snaked in between the pair as Eren pulled away, reminding Levi that he was still alone at the end of it all.

 

“Goodnight, Levi.” Eren smiled, turning one last time to look at Levi as he went down the stairwell, back to his car and his flat that was filled with life and friends and laughter.

 

“Goodnight, Eren.” Levi whispered, unheard by the person it was intended for.

 

That night his flat seemed colder than it usually did, Levi yearning for the same warmth he felt earlier. He got ready for bed, not really focusing on what he was doing, his mind wandering elsewhere as he crawled into bed. Alone. But as his face hit the pillow, Levi smiled into it, hiding his joy from the outside world. It had been a good night.


	7. Slightly psychotic friends that make you fear for your life are the best kind of people

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Levi realises that Eren and himself share a penchant for surrounding themselves with potential mass murderers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Ereri ship has finally set sail! Sorry for the Type II Diabetes I may have caused from the previous chapter from the shameful amount of fluff, but I regret nothing. Official apologies to SailorHeichou for the impromptu feels trip I took them on, that was grossly unintended and this fic was just meant to be funny and cute. Whoops.  
> As ever, find me on levis-dildo.tumblr.com, I always like hearing from people.  
> Thanks again from the kudos/bookmarks/subscriptions/comments, it makes me so happy to have all this support.   
> Enjoy your second helping of written diabetes again.

The peace that Levi had managed to create in his lonely apartment was shattered by the insensitive shrieking of his phone. It was barely past dawn and Levi was getting ready to go out for another severely detoured drive around Trost that he called his job. There was only one person with the audacity and knowledge of Levi’s work schedule to call at such an ungodly hour. _Fuck you phone and your noise, Jesus fucking Christ all I wanted was some peace and quiet before work where there’s nothing but noise all fucking day._

 

Levi sighed. He hated noise. Some noises he could stand- the soft rushing of rain, the inviting sound of his coffee machine when it had finished and most importantly, Levi loved Eren’s laugh. But most noise that he was surrounded by in the city was just _unnecessary._ The constant assault on his ear drums just seemed savage and goddamn fucking _rude._ Why did people feel the need to honk their car horns so often? Why did people have to blabber so loudly on their phones, especially in confined spaces? Why did people tend to develop the most irritating bray for a laugh that truly showed how many brain cells have upped and left once they realised that their human _was a fucking moron._

 

The phone was still ringing. Much to Levi’s contempt it didn’t run out of battery or combust or get stolen by a mysterious masked intruder that had crawled up the toilet. He’d better answer it.

 

“- _eeeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”_

 

 

“I was asleep, shitty four-eyes, this better be fucking important.” Levi had not been sleeping, but he hadn’t had the chance to mentally prepare himself for civilized conversation, especially one that involved a lot of shrieking from such an enthusiastic person before midday.

 

_“Nonsense, you’re working today, don’t tell lies, little Levi. I called about your cab.”_

 

“Please tell me that you’ve fixed it, I don’t think I’ve got enough disinfectant for any of Erwin’s replacement taxis.”

 

“ _Relax, your baby is good to go. I worked some of the old Hanji magic and she’s fine. It was just the spark plug that came out, so nothing major. I’ll come round and drop it off now see you then bye.”_

 

Click. Hanji had hung up on him.

 

_Odd. She usually talks my ear off when we’re on the phone. Why would she ever stop a conversation so soon?_

 

_She wants to talk to me in person about something. Holy fuck she wants to know about my date. Oh shit, it’s too early for this. I can’t even have a drink, I’m going in defenseless. It’s going to be a slaughter. Tell my nonexistent family I love them._

 

 

Levi knew that right now Hanji was haring down the roads in his poor taxi, salivating from the prospects of juicy gossip. He just hoped she didn’t crash, he did need his car for some things and Hanji could be useful.  

 

Levi sighed. He couldn’t have a second coffee; he did want to sleep that night. There was also no way he could make his current one any stronger, it had already reached dangerous levels of bitterness as it was.

 

So instead he finished off getting ready, trying to distract his mind from the impending interrogation he was about to receive. His mind had wandered off into the realms of the unknown (definitely not Eren, nope) when a frantic rapping on his door brought him back to painful, _brutal_ reality.

 

“Leeeeeeeeeevi,” a shaky whisper came from outside his door. “Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevi.”

 

“Fuck you Hanj, that’s creepy as shit, this isn’t some demented slasher movie.” There was more rapping on his door like a backfiring exhaust. “Hold the fuck up, I’m getting there, shitty glasses.”

 

Levi was in no rush to open his door, aware of what lay behind his protective barrier, but like an infected burn Hanji was just going to get more violent and irritating the longer he left her to fester. He swung his door open, when all of a sudden Levi found his back pressed firmly against his cold floor, his feet suspended in the air. Hanji’s manic face filled his vision, the woman practically shaking from anticipation.

 

“Get the fuck off me, shit face, you’re like a fucking feral animal.” Hanji wouldn’t budge. “Oi you fucking donkey, if you don’t get your ass off me I’ll get you put down.”

 

“Tell. Me. Everything.” She breathed, glasses prodding Levi’s cheeks. The small man remained silent, opting instead to glower up at his captor. “Levi. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I need to know.”

 

“I’m not telling you anything until YOU GET THE FUCK OFF ME.”

 

Hanji slunk away from her prey, her glasses hiding the calculating gaze, working out the best possible way to extract information from her friend without facing a court case. Levi pulled himself into a sitting position on the floor, wanting to get this interaction over and done with quickly before someone got hurt.

 

“He took me to an Italian just outside of Trost.”

 

“I need more data Levi, it’s bad science to draw up a valid conclusion from insufficient data.”

 

“Fuck off, Hanj, I’m getting there.” Levi took a deep breath and launched himself into the story. As he described the best night of his life in detail, the room just seemed to fade away. Nothing else mattered when all he could think about was Eren, captivated by his own memories.

 

“Should I have invited him back, Hanj? I didn’t want him to go and he didn’t want to leave either, well, I think he didn’t. But that’s a big step for a first date…”

 

He realised that the usually boisterous woman had remained deathly quiet throughout his tale. But as it turned out Hanji was just bottling up her excitement until the end, when she let out the most unearthly pterodactyl shriek and lunged for Levi.

 

“LEEEEEEVI OH MY GOD DON’T LET THIS BOY GO HE SOUNDS BEAUTIFUL. HE MUST BE SOMETHING TO GET THAT KIND OF REACTION OUT OF YOU.”

 

“Hanji, seriously though, should I have invited him back?”

 

The feral animal quickly morphed into something more serious and analytical in an instant, Hanji releasing Levi, her back ram rod straight and her voice dropped several octaves.

 

“It seemed you had the perfect chemistry, but I think you did the right thing letting him go home, as it’s not seen as the classy thing to do to fuck on the first date, that only happens in films and beautiful fanfiction.”

 

Levi’s shoulders slumped slightly. “Thank fuck for that then. I have no idea how this dating shit works. Wait, are we dating?”

 

“Do you intend on seeing him again?”

 

“Of fucking course, the little shit isn’t getting away from me now.”

 

Hanji beamed. “So when are you next seeing him?”

 

That was a good question. “I don’t know…it was only last night so we haven’t actually arranged anything yet”

 

“Will Eren want to see you again?”

 

At the memory of Eren’s face brushed with candlelight and how his cheeks were flushed after their first kiss, Levi’s eyes went glassy and his heart let out a wistful pang.

 

“Earth to Levi, is anybody home?” Hanji waved her paw, bringing her friend out from his little detour through his personal haven.

 

“Oh, shit, sorry. I hope so, he was the one to ask me out and he did seem pretty into it so…”

 

An oversized crooked smile crawled onto Hanji’s face, reminding Levi of a shark the way her eyes glinted with mischief. _Shit, what does the bitch want now? Shitshitshitshitshit, I don’t have life insurance._

 

 

“Soooo, Levi. When can I meet him?”

 

“That is never happening I’m not trusting you to be in the same room as him.”

 

“But Leeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.”

 

The whining had been the last straw. Levi may have been small in stature, but he was undeniably strong. So when he yanked Hanji by the ponytail out of his flat, there wasn’t much she could do in protest.

 

“Right, that’s enough, dick cheese, I’m going to work.”

 

“But Levi, there’s so much we haven’t discussed! Like what did Er-“

 

Levi promptly shut the door in Hanji’s face. He turned to walk away when he heard scraping from outside.

 

“If you scratch my door I’ll rip off your shitty ponytail, set it alight and use it as an enema, shit for brains.”

 

Silence.

 

“I’ll be in touch.” A sinister whisper slithered through his door. Levi let out a sigh of relief as he heard Hanji scuttle away and back to her lair, probably plotting out a detailed heist in which she could spy in on their next date. She really was something else.

 

 

Miraculously Levi’s shift flew by. He didn’t notice the sun lazily crawl across the sky as he was too engrossed in driving punters endlessly across the city. His hectic work load meant that his mind had little time to wander across to Eren and last night.

 

That was until his phone went off. There were very people that Levi was in texting terms with, and they were unlikely to try and get hold of him when he was working. However, he couldn’t see whom the text was from until he’d finished his current run. That punter was the usual smarmy business man who needed to reach his office _now_ because it was _important_ and he was _severely needed because the Holy Grail is buried so far up my ass it can do a wrecking ball on my uvula._

 

 

As the punter hurriedly exited Levi’s cab after hurling his fare and not even having the grace to give him a second glance, Levi lunged for his phone. _Please be Eren, please be Eren, please don’t be my mobile network reminding me how alone I am._

 

**From: Eren**

**Hey thanks for last night I hope you enjoyed it. I know this is soon but if you’re free I was wondering if you wanted to come over for a film or something idk.**

 

 

Levi felt like he was having heart palpitations as he fumbled trying to think of a response. Technically he was meant to work, but he’d made quite a good wage for today so he didn’t think Erwin would mind if he left a little earlier than planned. Roughly punching the intercom, Levi awaited for the dulcet tones of his boss to come over the system.

 

“Erwin, it’s Levi.”

 

“Hello Levi, are you alright?”

 

“I was wondering if I could leave the shift early today, I’ve made a good wage and-”

 

“Levi, you always work hard, of course you can leave early.”

 

_Captain America comes in to save the day again._

 

 

“Can I ask why you need to leave early?”

 

“Ugh…I’m going on a date.” It wasn't really a date, but Levi liked to think it was.

 

Levi didn’t like the ominous static, Erwin’s silence scared him. “You’re going on a date?” Erwin questioned.

 

“Are you really that surprised that I pulled?”

 

“Levi, you never go out and do anything and you’re way of being nice to people is dubious.”

 

“Fuck you and your eyebrows.” Levi snarled.

 

Laughter crackled down the intercom. “Take care tonight, Levi. You’ve earned some time for a little happiness.”

 

“Thank you Erwin, I’ll see you later.”

 

**To: Eren**

**Last night was great, I had a good time. I can come over now if you want.**

 

Levi drummed his fingers against his steering wheel, unsure of what to do. He had to wait for Eren to reply and he was just sitting in the lay by and it could be ages before Eren got back to him and he could have stayed on working after all and he couldn’t lose out on any money and-

 

**From: Eren**

**Yh sure come over whenever**

 

Levi nearly caused several head-on collisions in his haste to get to Eren’s flat. He’d only been to Shingashina complex a grand total of 3 times now, but the route was ingrained in his memory so much so, that the journey seemed effortless. For once Levi was glad that his job required him to look presentable, so that he would be turning up to see Eren looking half decent in a shirt and slacks rather than a mangy old jumper.

 

When he pulled in to the complex, Levi took the stairs up to the7th floor 2 at a time, the journey upwards somewhat easier and far less hazardous as he didn’t have to carry a drunken student bridal style up several flights of stairs. It was far less enjoyable this time round however, Levi did miss having Eren breathing into his chest and clutching at his shirt. He wasn’t going to forget that anytime soon.

 

“Hey, are you the taxi driver?”

 

Levi whirled around, he was just about to reach Eren’s door when he recognized the heavily accented voice that called down the hall to him. The big man Reiner from that night was unlocking his flat, which was in fact a few doors down from Eren, his grocery bags strewn on the floor.

 

“Yeah, that’s me. Reiner, right?”

 

“Thanks for looking after my friends again, I’m sorry for all the trouble they caused.” A beefy hand clenched on Levi’s shoulder as Reiner bounded across the hall to talk to him.

 

“It’s no problem, honestly, I’m just glad that they got home in one piece.”

 

“So, what brings you back to Shingashina?” The German smiled, obviously suspecting something. He looked like the type to gossip, not out of malice but just because he enjoyed the camaraderie of storytelling and making people happy. Levi thought about lying, but that would scupper his plans on visiting Eren again and again and again.

 

“Eren invited me over, we went on a date last night.”

 

Before he knew it, Levi was wrapped in thick arms, pressed tightly against Reiner’s hard chest. _Holy tit biscuits this guy is harder than a teenage boy watching busty Asian porn._ However, Reiner’s illusion of a hard man was shattered when the grown ass man let out a delighted squeal and started swinging Levi’s tiny body to and fro like he was merely a rag doll. He kind of felt like a rag doll then, as the life was being crushed out of him by the power of Reiner’s biceps.

 

“I’m so happy, my boy has finally found someone!” He crooned. “Eren has always been unlucky in love, but I could see there was something between you two that night. I must tell Bert! I will tell him about you…hey, what is your name?” Reiner waited for a response from the smaller man, before realizing that Levi was unable to speak when he had a mouth full of a rock hard pectoral.

 

“It’s Levi.” He said as Reiner gently placed him back down on the floor. The height difference between the two of them was embarrassing.

 

“Levi, it is nice to meet you properly. I must warn you, if you hurt my Eren, I will hurt you.”

 

“I don’t doubt you for a second, and I don’t intend to, don’t worry.” Levi assured. Eren was too good to lose and Reiner looked like he could crush Levi just by sitting on him alone.

 

“I won’t keep you two any longer. Have fun!” The German giggled, waving goodbye as he scurried back into his flat. Reiner was an odd man, but he had a good heart and Levi couldn’t help but smile when he thought of him. He was like Hanji in some ways- they both had peculiar quirks and could be intimidating without even trying, but they were still so caring that they’d do absolutely anything to help you.

 

No more distractions. Levi was here, at Eren’s flat to see Eren in his natural environment. _We’re going to watch a movie in his home, is this official now or am I going to wake up in a psych ward at any moment?_

 

He heard scuffling coming from inside as he rapped his knuckles on the door. _Deep breaths, calm nerves, don’t pass out on Eren, that’s not cool and sexy._ The door swung open and Levi was greeted with the sight of a slightly breathless Eren, hair in its usual state of anarchy.   _Definitely going to wake up in a psych ward, no real person can look like that. Kudos to you, Levi’s imagination, well done for creating such a hot piece of ass._

 

 

“Hi, sorry I was just trying to clean up. Come in.”

 

The flat looked different in the light of day; the faded walls didn’t seem as sallow when they were kissed with sunlight that was snaking through the window. There were no text books strewn across the coffee table, evident that Eren had been truthful in his cleaning attempt.

 

“Where is everybody else?” Levi asked, standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, feeling slightly out of place.

 

“Mikasa’s at the gym, Armin’s in the library probably and Jean has class, so it’s just us in here.”

 

_That is good that is good, wonderful, no interruptions just us. Eren to myself, fuck yes._

 

 

Eren pulled open the cupboard that the TV sat upon, revealing their small collection of films.

 

“We have some films here, pick anything you want to watch and I can make some popcorn or something.”

 

Levi scanned the film selection on offer. There were certainly a variety of films, but it seemed that the students favoured shitty horror films unsurprisingly. Levi enjoyed them to some extent, as he liked to make fun of the quite frankly shocking special effects and the appalling excuse for acting. He was going to pull out some generic b-movie horror film that he hadn’t seen when a brightly coloured blu ray caught his attention from the coffee table.

 

“Is that the Lego movie?” He asked incredulously.

 

Eren turned around from the microwave, blushing slightly at the kid’s film that had somehow found its way into the flat of a 19 year old man in further education. He was meant to be an intellectual, one of the elite, but for some reason a film about fucking bricks entertained him.

 

“Ugh…yeah, that’s ours.”

 

“We’re watching this.”

 

Eren looked taken aback. “Really?”

 

“Yes. Are you complaining?” Because Levi was prepared to fight him on this, no matter how attractive Eren was, there were some things that was not prepared to budge over. He really liked that film.

 

“No, not at all. It’s a, um, really great film,”

 

Levi scoffed at this. “Really great doesn’t cover it, brat, this film is art.”

 

“I never really pegged you for a kid’s film type of person is all.”

 

“Eren, you walked in on me singing Mulan in the shower. Are you really that surprised?”

 

He laughed at this, setting the film up before curling up on the sofa. Levi was unsure of where to put himself- he knew he shouldn’t sit hunched up in the corner, they’d kissed for fuck’s sake, but they’d only been on one date so he wasn’t really allowed to drape himself over Eren, was he? The solution was found when Eren pulled Levi down into his arms, cuddling along the sofa as they watched the colourful carnage unfold beneath them.

 

 Not only was Eren hot, he was also unbelievably _warm_ as well. Levi could feel the kid practically radiating heat behind him, contrasting to Levi’s usual icy temperature nicely.  As Levi lay there, wrapped in Eren’s arms, the younger man’s head resting gently on top of his, Levi felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time- he felt _safe._ The past had left Levi scared both on the outside and within, his life hounded by paranoia and the constant anxiety of events repeating themselves. Levi had worked hard to escape the person he’d been and the life that he had lead and he had no desire to regress back to his old ways. Safety had been merely a concept rather than an actuality back then, and that feeling had never left Levi, some things never changed and he had kept his survival instincts. So now, lying with Eren, feeling safe, was bliss, _utter bliss_.

 

Levi rolled over, turning to face the man behind him.

 

“You okay Levi?” The boy murmured, their faces not even inches apart. They were so close Levi could even study the pores on Eren’s face, the length of his eyelashes, the depths of his eyes.

 

_I feel safe with you, Eren, I feel like I can breath for the first time and all I want is to inhale you. I want to be part of your warmth and your mind and your heart, because they are the most wonderful thing I have ever seen._

 

 

Levi couldn’t put his emotions and thoughts into words when Eren gazed at him, those bright eyes rendering his capacity for conceptual thought useless. Instead, Levi closed the gaping distance between their lips that had been teasing him for too long. To Levi’s delight, Eren sighed into the kiss, deepening it as their tongues met, noses brushing past each other. The kiss wasn’t the hormonal filled kiss that was fueled by lust and desperation, this kiss was languid, slow, neither of them feeling the need to hurry as they relaxed into each other. The wet sounds and the faltering of breath were all that Eren and Levi could hear in their own little world, the film left forgotten in the background. Levi thought he could feel Eren’s heart beating against his chest, but he wasn’t sure if it was his own that was just beating erratically.

 

When they finished, Eren and Levi barely pulled apart, foreheads resting together, gazing at each other and trying to commit to memory the person that lay before them. Their feet had snaked around each other, turning their separate bodies into a mass of limbs.

 

“Sooo, are we a thing now?” Eren asked, his mouth curling at his nervous energy.

 

“Yes. Now stop ruining the moment before I throw you the fuck off.”

 

Eren’s dopey smile at the news that they were boyfriends made Levi’s overworked heart want to wrestle free of its boney captor because It felt like it could fucking _fly_ whenever Eren smiled. This lead to another slow make out session, there was no haste as both knew that had all the time in the world for each other and rushing might make it end sooner, Levi wanted to enjoy being with Eren for as long as possible.

 

Their kissing slowed and stilled, their eyes gently closed as their breathing slowed. Eren’s head was resting on top of his boyfriend’s, arm thrown protectively over him. Levi’s head was placed in the crook of Eren’s neck, hands clutching the front of his shirt with no intention of letting go for a long time. The pair dozed off together, lost in their personal bliss, the outside world gone and forgotten about.

 

Mikasa was the first to come home, gym bag thrown over one shoulder, still slightly red from her previous exertions. She was about to call out to Eren when she saw the bodies wrapped around each other on the sofa. Mikasa crouched down and slunk towards the unknown object, spurred on by curiosity. It was then she realised it was her brother and a strange man sleeping together, their soft snores and chests rising and falling, up and down and down and up. She recognized the other man as that taxi driver who brought Eren home, her anger levels rising. She knew something was up with that man, he was too old for Eren, he had no right to be there, lying intimately with her only living family, he shouldn-

 

Mikasa breathed. No. This was Eren’s life. She didn’t know the full story, hell, she didn’t even know the man’s name, so she couldn’t just charge straight in and make assumptions. In the past Mikasa had been overprotective of her adoptive brother, smothering him in her need to make sure that no one else would die on her. That had caused many arguments and through her blind need to _protect_ she had nearly lost the closest person to her. She smiled, Eren did look happy. Sure he smiled and laughed and enjoyed life, but there was no mistaking the soft smile of contentment that he wore. Maybe the mysterious man wasn’t a bad thing to happen to Eren, Mikasa would just have to wait and see. For now she would settle with taking a few pictures of the two of them and use them as blackmail material in the future.

 

Mikasa left the room, wanting to leave the two alone. They weren’t waking up for anybody anytime soon.  


	8. Wet, but not in a good way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Duck overlords, a trip on the feels train and the return of the angry garden gnome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, the rating has gone up...can't imagine why.  
> I'm sorry about last chapter's nap time on the sofa. I did that a lot with my ex and I thought it was really cute and I had a keyboard so SLAM BAM, IN THE FIC IT WENT.   
> There will be angst. There will be fluff. Be prepared, kids.  
> I'm levis-dildo.tumblr.com if you want to swing by and leave a message.  
> Comments, kudos, bookmarks and such are always greatly appreciated. Some of the comments I've had so far have been beautiful and I can't than you guys enough.  
> I hope to have another chapter out before I go away on holiday again next week. I'm looking forward to that one a lot as I may have something planned for Levi...  
> Anyway, enjoy C:

_Snap_

 

“Jean!”

 

“Oh fuck shit I forgot to turn the shutter off shit.”

 

Levi became aware that he was engulfed in warmth. The sensation was foreign to him, especially when waking up, as his flat was in sub zero temperatures and he was too tight to pay for heating. Humans had survived without heating for thousands of years, or so he told himself when his teeth chattering kept him up at night.  

 

“I think they’re still asleep, Arm.” The speaker giggled. “Oh my God I can’t believe this.”

 

“Shut up, Jean.” Armin snickered. “Don’t wake them up yet.”

 

_Motherfuckers who woke me up I will castrate you with a plastic spoon and serve you your shriveled walnut testicles à la mode._

 

 

Levi cracked an eye open.  Rosy flesh and dark tendrils of hair blocked his vision from the two culprits.

 

“Oh fuck fuck fuck.”

 

“Jean you idiot!”

 

Not wishing to wake his sleeping boyfriend (he was ecstatic that he could now call Eren that), Levi sat up slowly, Eren’s arms still snaked around him, and glared at the two boys in front of him. Jean was holding the offensive item in his hand, his other trying to smother the giggles trying to escape from his gaping mouth. Armin at least had the courtesy to look guilty, but Levi could see that even he too was shaking from his internal laughter.

 

“What…are you doing?” Levi hissed. His glare could make a hard-ass lawyer with a sphincter made of fucking steel shit themselves right now, it was so lethal it could probably cause the entire ocean to just _nope_ and evaporate the fuck out of there.

 

“I’m, I’m sorry man.” Jean’s laughs had stilled and died suddenly when he met Levi’s icy gaze. “It’s just…you two looked too precious to miss out on an opportunity like that.”

 

“We’re really sorry for waking you up,” Armin stuttered. “Hey wait, aren’t you the taxi driver?”

 

Levi bristled. Yes, he was their taxi driver, their one night stand in four wheels if you like. Yes, his only purpose was to serve, he was a nameless, faceless, entirely forgettable public servant whose entirely livelihood depended on his ability to pick up drop off pick up drop off an endless stream of punters and passengers like a goddamn fucking _conveyer belt._ His opinion did not matter. His thoughts did not matter. Levi himself did not fucking matter in the eyes of the world and in the greater scheme of things.

 

But no.

 

Things had changed. Levi was fucking _more_ than some asshole behind the wheel, practically begging for change in his petrol carriage to nowhere. He wasn’t just some taxi driver, he had a fucking name. He had a fucking life and friends and hopes and dreams and _fears,_ so many fucking fears and worries about the future, just like every other miserable person who shuffled through life and ignored his entire existence.

 

_I’m Levi, you horsed face prick. I’m 29, I’ve done a lot a shit that would make my mother turn over in her grave, but most importantly I’m-_

 

“I’m Eren’s boyfriend, actually.”

 

The collected faces of Jean and Armin would have made the perfect Kodak moment. Levi wish he had gotten a photo of it and framed it, because the pair looked so embarrassed and fucking shocked, that Levi couldn’t help but let a smile break his stony mask. _Yeah, suck on that, bitches._

 

“Oh…” Jean stuttered. “I shouldn’t be surprised really after walking in on…this.”

 

“It’s just,” Armin attempted to rope for words. “Eren’s never had a boyfriend before, or dated for a long time.”

 

Eren was still amazingly asleep, his lanky arms draped over Levi, oblivious to the pressure in the conscious world.

 

“I’m Armin and this is Jean, it’s Levi, right?” Armin offered, trying to diffuse the stifling tension that had shrouded the room.

 

“Yeah, I’m Levi.”

 

“Oh, so you’re the guy Eren kept going on about then.”

 

_Eren kept talking about me? So it wasn’t just me being an obsessive creep and my overbearing perverted aura didn’t erode his defenses?_

 

“Eren talked about me?” Levi asked, his eyes alert and attentive, he could pick up some valuable information here.

 

“Y-yeah, the next day when we were all together Er-“

 

A loud snuffle from the napping man brought Armin’s answer to an abrupt halt. Eren had finally become aware of the absence of Levi’s body heat and was grunting in displeasure, hands pawing to try and find his boyfriend. To Eren’s dismay, he was awake and Levi was out of his grasp. He cracked an eye open to see Levi sitting bolt upright, his attention drawn towards something across the room.

 

“mmm…Levi?” He mumbled his tongue not quite aware that Eren was awake just yet.

 

“Uhh, hey Eren, sorry for waking you.”

 

Levi was nearly squashed into the back of the sofa from the violent surge of Eren’s body as he jerked upright.

 

“What’s going on?” He demanded, eyes darting questioningly between the two culprits.

 

“Well, uh-” Jean rubbed the back of his neck, not quite having the courage to meet Eren’s intense gaze, the usual calm ocean had been become a storm, dangerous and wild. _But alarmingly beautiful,_ Levi thought, all feelings of hostility towards the two boys forgotten as he looked at his lover. _Take fucking poetry class, Shakespeare, write Eren a fucking poem with all this internal sappy bullshit you keep spouting and watch him implode from all your clichéd drivel._

 

 

“We may have taken a few photos when you two were asleep because you looked adorable, is what Jean is trying to say.”

 

Levi could feel Eren’s body become rigid, tense and coiled. He began to shake slightly and Levi thought he was going to explode at any moment.

 

“Eren.” Levi tried, but he was not able to get a response from the livid man. “Eren, it’s okay.”

 

_Holy fucking shit he’s going to rip Kirstein’s face off. Not that I’m complaining of course, but the paper work would be a bitch and Eren’s too hot to spend time in jail unscathed._

 

 

 _“_ Eren, I didn’t mean to upset you, man.”

 

Without warning, Eren got up and stormed out of the flat, leaving the door swinging on its hinges. Levi leapt up to follow his boyfriend, not even bothering to look at the two confused residents that had been left standing in the middle of the room.

 

Levi found Eren sitting in the passenger seat of his cab, ignoring Levi as he tapped on the window.

 

“Eren, come on, talk to me.”

 

At the silence from the brunet, Levi sighed and got in the car, deciding it was best if he started driving somewhere. After all the progress the two of them had made, it seemed that once again Levi was trapped behind his plastic barriers, unable to reach out to the still shaking Eren. He just wanted to show some small comfort by putting his hand on Eren’s knee or something, as Levi was shit with sympathy and was more than likely to antagonize Eren further and cause an unnecessary heated row in his car that would result in more damage and hurt, which neither of them needed. Eren would talk when Eren was ready, and Levi would listen. Levi would always be there to listen to Eren, as Levi had not always been there for the important people in his life, and had faced the consequences of his absence.

 

“Do you want to go anywhere in particular?”

 

“I just need to get away, please, I don’t care.” Eren managed to force his words out from his clenched jaw, hands still visibly trembling. Levi knew exactly where to go, and set his course in that direction.

 

The drive was in stony silence, both occupants hesitant to speak. But bless fully, it was short and before long Levi was pulling up to park in his usual parking spot by his flat.

 

“We’re not going to my flat, if you’re wondering.” Levi stated, hoping that Eren was listening to him as the boy was still not looking at him. “It’s just a short walk from here.”

 

They didn’t hold hands when they walked. Their shoulders didn’t brush together. Their eyes didn’t meet and dance when they smiled at one another. Instead, Eren trudged slightly behind Levi, hands shoved in pockets, neck stooping slightly as he looked at his feet. This wasn’t the usual Eren, the one who was the human embodiment of life. This was a complete stranger, Levi realised. He didn’t look controlled by anger any more; he looked defeated by some internal battle that had been raging on inside his head. _I should have spoken to him straight away, I should have tried to comfort him, I should have been there for him the moment it went to shit, I fucked up I fucked up, I should’ve-_

 

Levi was unsure of what he should have done. Hindsight was a bitch that Levi tended to avoid, as the mornings after were filled with regret when you rolled over and realised that she wasn’t as attractive afterwards. After a lifetime filled with regrets, Levi tried to ignore the _what ifs_ and instead focus on how he was going to move on, get on with his life.

 

“This is the place I wanted to bring you to.”

 

It was a small park, nothing extravagant or unique about a patch of grass with a duck pond and a few benches. But the place looked unnaturally clean and fresh and healthy for such as city as Trost, apart from the occasional shopping trolley that had been crashed into the water from drunken escapades that had taken a turn for the worse.

 

“I come here when I need to clear a few things from my head.” Levi confessed. “It’s one of the few places in this city I can actually fucking stand. Apart from when there are brats running around shrieking, that’s when I consider chucking a few of them into the pond as an offering to the duck overlord.”

 

They began to stroll leisurely around the pond, the setting sun dancing across the surface of the tranquil water. Eren was still quiet, but the silence coming from him didn’t seem so abrasive now, it was more serene, like he was contemplating a few things internally.

 

“Eren, please talk to me. I want to know what’s running through that head of yours, I want to know so that I can try and understand and you don’t have to be alone in this. I’m here and I just want to hear you.”

 

No words came from Eren’s lips and Levi could feel his heart start to slowly sink, fearing that the one thing that was going right in his life was going to disappear, when the boy sighed, sounding like he was letting out the breath he had been holding since he fled from his apartment.

 

“I…I had anger problems as a kid. We’re not talking ‘getting a little pissy when you’re mum didn’t let you have sweets before dinner’ kind of shit, we’re talking full on rage fits here. I got into a lot of fights and hurt a lot of people. Jean was one of them. We _never_ got on as kids, I always used to think he was so fucking full of himself and his face was so fucking irritating that I just couldn’t help but take a swing at him. Ironic now that we’re living together and he’s one of my best friends, I know.”

 

He paused, looking unsure of what to say, worried that he was revealing too much too soon and if it all came spilling out he’d fuck everything up somehow. Eren felt Levi’s fingers wrap around his, a silent encouragement to go on.

 

“Anyway, my mum used to get so upset. I’d come home bloody and bruised and she’d cry. She didn’t get angry at me, as she said that I was already angry enough for the both of us, she was just sad. She was disappointed in me and that hurt so fucking much. I wish she’d been angry at me and slapped me round the face and screamed at me to pull my shit together. Instead she’d patch me up and wipe away a few tears and ask me to just _stop_ in this broken little voice. To hear her talk like that broke my heart over and over again, I tried to stop for her, but I was, and still am to some extent, so filled with anger. Mikasa was the one to usually rescue my ass from fights beat the living shit out of whomever I was against and then drag me away to scream at me to stop.”

 

“When-when my mum passed, that broke me. All I could think about was how I’d spent my life just being a constant disappointment and how I’d hurt her time and time again. I’d missed my chance to show her I could be a better person, control myself. So from then on the anger just seemed to die. I guess you could say that when she died I grew up. My mum never saw me become a man as I’d spent too long being a fucking child and constantly fucking up. I never made my mum proud.”

 

At that Levi couldn’t take it anymore.  He closed the distance between him and Eren, arms wrapping round his boyfriend tightly, holding him so close, closer than he’d ever held anyone before.

 

“Don’t say that.” Levi murmured into his ear as he felt the hot tears splash onto his neck and trickle down. “Don’t say that you never made your mum proud.”

 

“But I neve-“

 

“Don’t fucking do this to yourself Eren. You turned your life around by yourself; you grew up, matured, acted like a fucking man instead of a brat. You learned to control your anger alone and by your own determination. And that’s hard, so fucking hard but you did it. You’ve achieved so much Eren and I can say with absolute certainty that you’re mum would be so fucking proud of you. You got into university, you’re surrounded by a wonderful group of friends and you have a boyfriend who l-“

 

Levi hesitated, not wanting to scare Eren away with what his heart was feeling already.

 

“who cares about you a whole fucking lot. You’ve done well kid, and she raised you right. If she could see you now she’d be smiling so much, after she slapped some sense into you of course.”

 

Levi pulled away from Eren’s ear to look up at his face. Tears were still leaking from his bright eyes, but he looked at peace, a small smile trying to break free. Levi reached up to wipe away the tears with his hands, feeling the warmth trickle down his fingers.

 

“She must have been a wonderful person if you’re anything to go by, kid.”

 

“I’m sorry for being a little bitch, Levi.” Eren mumbled.

 

“Quit apologizing, it’s all fine, honestly. But what exactly got your panties in a twist?”

 

“I-I just wanted to tell everyone about us in our own time, as I haven’t had anyone to introduce to my friends in a long time and I wanted it to have the feeling of bringing my boyfriend over to meet my friends. But I felt like that was taken away from me a bit. It’s not that I’m ashamed of you Levi, I just hadn’t prepared myself to introducing you as my boyfriend to people. Plus, Jean can be a dick sometimes, old habits die hard.”

 

They continued walking around the pond, wanting to finish the circuit. They were the only people left in the park now, everyone had left and the park was refreshingly quiet, a stark contrast to the ever noisy city.

 

“What was your mum like, Levi?”

 

 _Shit. Are you ready to talk about your past, little man?_   _It’s only fair that you talk too, as you were the one bitching earlier about Eren shutting you out. He deserves to know._

 

“I never knew my mum that well, to be honest. I only have a few memories of her as she died when I was very young. From what I remember is that she had long dark hair that was always in a plaited to the side and I would try and grab it whenever she bent down to pick me up. I can struggle to remember her face sometimes, but I can still hear her laughing. She laughed a lot, I made her really happy, I guess.”

 

Eren and Levi slowed as they reached the edge of the water, watching the sun disappear behind the buildings.

 

“How did she die?”

 

That question rang around Levi’s head. It was a memory Levi had always tried to repress it, but that day still managed to sometimes slither back into his thoughts and dreams, remind him that she had died painfully and never gotten to know her only son.

 

“It was at night, because shit like that always happens during nighttime. I remember my mum charging into my room. It was the only time her hair wasn’t braided and I thought it looked beautiful flying behind her. She grabbed me, she usually picked me up so gently and whispered ‘be quiet, Levi, I love you I love you I love’. I wanted to cry, I didn’t like seeing my mum so scared, but she told me to be quiet and so I was. She pulled up the one of the lose floorboards, kissed my head and shoved me inside, whispering ‘I love you’ all the time. Everything went dark then. I could hear heavy footsteps running up the stairs, and then I heard her scream. It’s the worst sound I’ve ever heard. I heard my mum dying in agony. You don’t ever forget something like that.”

 

Eren looked horrified, words stuck in his throat as he was unable to voice anything at the ordeal Levi had to endure.

 

“I then felt something warm on my head. My mum’s blood had run through the floorboards. I went to sleep crying silently, covered in the blood of my dead mother. I was found the next day by the police, and after that I can’t remember much else.”

 

“Oh my God…Levi, I-“

 

“It’s fine Eren, it was a long time ago, I’m still here because of my mum so I know she’d be happy.”

 

Eren mimicked Levi from earlier and pulled him into a hug, head resting on top of the smaller man’s. “I feel like such an asshole for whining about my mum dying now.”

 

“Listen here, shitstain.” Levi growled into Eren’s chest, wanting to look up at his boyfriend and glare at him, but was unable to as that boy was practically a limpet when it came to hugs. “Lets not play a game of ‘my mum died worse than your mum’, because that’s fucking bollocks and at the end of the day, they’re both fucking dead. Everyone has their own problems and fucking tragic sob stories that deserve to belong to a fucking superhero or some shit. At the end of the day, suffering is relative. Just because someone’s had a worse hand than you doesn’t make yours any easier. So shut the fuck up before I throw you in the pond and use your body as my own person raft so I can go and live with the ducks and reject humanity forever, fucknut.”  

   

Eren laughed and pulled away from Levi, looking like he was about to say something quite remarkable.

 

Until he fell backwards into the pond.

 

Dragging Levi down with him.

 

Levi’s angry cried were muffled by pond water, his face submerged below the surface. Eren had landed on his back, but Levi had unfortunately landed face first, because naturally the universe hated that small, angry man.

 

“Oh shit Levi, are you okay?”

 

Levi pushed himself upright, pond algae draped over his sodden black locks. He glared at his lover before grumpily spurting the water in his mouth directly onto Eren’s face.

 

“How the fuck did you make it to 19, brat?”

 

And to Levi’s annoyance, Eren howled in laughter, dipping his hair back into the murky water as he threw his head back, the surface of the water rippling from the shaking of his body.

 

“I don’t see what’s so funny about being _fucking drenched in shitty pond water.”_

 

Eren managed to still his laughter and looked Levi dead in the eye. “The angry gnome is back.” He deadpanned.

 

Levi leapt on his boyfriend and attempted to drown him in the shallows.

 

 

The walk back to Levi’s flat was uncomfortable; the pair squelched their way up to the door, trailing pond water in their wake.

 

“You can use the shower first.” Levi suggested as he waddled his way into his apartment. He despised having wet clothes, especially when they were sopping wet with dirty pond water to boot. “I’ll wash your clothes and try and find something to fit you in the mean time.”

 

“I doubt I’ll fit anything of yours as I haven’t worn anything from the kid’s section in years.”

 

“You’re getting a cold fucking shower in a minute, bitch tits.”

 

Eren scampered away into Levi’s bathroom before he lost his hot water privileges. When Eren was out of sight Levi quickly freed himself from his soggy clothes, chucking them unceremoniously into the washing machine, before collecting Eren’s and flinging them in there too. He’d sort through the darks and the colours later, but for now he was just glad to be dry.

 

As Levi searched through his miniscule wardrobe for something that Eren could wear without stretching beyond recognition, Levi could hear the faint sounds of Eren singing seeping out underneath the bathroom door. _And he made fun of me singing in my own fucking shower, bloody hypocrite._ But really Levi was just glad that Eren had overcome his previous mood from earlier and would later be able to go back and home and work things out with his friends.

 

He could hear the soft slapping of Eren’s feet as he left the bathroom.

 

“Did you find anything I could wear?”

 

Eren leant against Levi’s bedroom door, in nothing but a towel. His hair was dripping from his shower, and Levi followed a few beads of water trickle slowly down Eren’s chest. _Don’t do the hair flick don’t do the hair flick don’t do the hair flick._

 

 

Eren flicked his wet hair away from his face. Levi’s heart passed out and was going to need a defibrillator at this rate.

 

“Uh, I uh, I’ll have to check when I get out of the shower, do you mind ugh staying in a towel for a bit?” Levi stuttered. _Smooth as a pothole, short stack. How have you been single for so long?_ He had previously been freezing from the impromptu swim in the pond, but now Levi’s face was burning so much at the sight of Eren in a towel that he had somehow managed to warm himself up completely. 

 

Before he could embarrass himself further Levi scurried off into the shower, trying to not slip over on any of the wet patches or because he was a fucking train wreck disaster after seeing Eren _practically naked._ Levi set the shower to scalding hot in the hopes of burning away his sins, but no amount of scorching hot water attempting to melt his face off would calm his nerves. _Eren is next to naked and sitting in my bedroom._ Levi looked down at his eager erection. _Fuck off, little guy, don’t need you sticking your head into my business. Now is not the time. Go and hang with the kids or some shit, I don’t care._

 

Not wishing to spend too long in the shower because he was a grown ass man who had to pay fucking water bills that were extortionate, Levi left the safety of his bathroom. _Fuck I should have brought my clothes in the bathroom with me and now we’re both practically naked in my bedroom. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuckityfuckingfuckfuck._

 

Eren had been looking out of the bedroom window at the darkening sky when Levi shuffled in. He turned to look at his boyfriend when he suddenly noticed Levi’s lack of clothes. Eren’s mouth hung open slightly, his face dusted in a glorious scarlet colour. Neither one of them said anything as Levi stood there awkwardly in the doorway, both seemingly forgetting that they were mature adults rather than socially inept teenagers on prom night.

 

_Fuck it._

 

 

Levi closed the gap between them, pausing a second to look up at Eren’s wide eyes, noting that the pupils were blown wide with lust, before reaching up and bringing him in to a passionate kiss. Their previous kisses had been relaxed and tender, but this, this was something else. As their mouths moved around each other, towels lying discarded on the floor, they were both filled with a fire, a desire to consume the other in every way possible.

 

Their eyes never left one another as Eren backed onto Levi’s bed, shuffling up to allow the shorter man to climb on top of him. They continued to make out there, erections grinding up against one another, gasping into each other’s mouths at the sensation.

 

“Do you have condoms and lube?” Eren asked managing to keep some sense in his lust filled brain as Levi bit down on his vulnerable neck. Levi reached into the top draw of his bedside table. The supplies were buried right at the back, but Levi still kept them close by in the vain hope he’d get lucky, and sure enough that day had come.  

 

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Levi spoke, his voice ragged already.

 

“Are you sure you’re tall enough for this ride, little man?” Eren fired back. _I taught you too well._

 

“Don’t be a fucker when you’re naked and defenseless in front of me, shit head, who knows what I’ll do.”

 

“Hopefully shut up and fuck me, asshole.”

 

Levi grinned and began lubing up his fingers. He prepped Eren’s hole before sliding one finger in slowly. Eren grimaced, but made no sign of stopping him, so Levi inserted a second and began shifting them around. A small whimper left Eren’s lips, which died in his throat when a third finger was finally added.

 

“Levi, please.” Eren whined pitifully, writhing about on Levi’s fingers. The older man decided to instead playfully like the underside of Eren’s leaking cock teasingly, seemingly deaf to his boyfriend’s pleas.

 

“OH MY FUCK LEVI SERIOUSLY I NEED YOU IN ME NOW.”

 

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Levi lined his dick up to Eren’s hole and pushed in slowly, gripping tightly to his hips. Eren responded by wrapping his legs behind Levi, arms snaking round his neck and holding tightly onto a few tendrils of hair. They kept eye contact until Eren nodded; telling Levi that he was ready and that he wanted this. Levi began thrusting in to Eren and Eren lowered his hips downwards, creating the perfect motion.

 

Levi’s eyes never left Eren as they fucked. Sure, he’d had sex before of course, but this felt like something else. He looked down at Eren, his hair standing out in all directions, cheeks full and flushed and those _sounds_ that he made, the soft pants, the ragged the breathing, the screams and shouts when Levi found the right spot. Levi had never felt more alive than when he did now. He had never felt so in control, so wanted, so _needed_ as he was now. He was creating something beautiful with Eren, his own hands; his own body had molded and shaped Eren somehow into a panting, screaming mess beneath him. This was his own private masterpiece that he wanted everyone to see because it was incredibly breathtaking, but at the same time he wanted to keep it a secret because it was _his._ He had created it, Eren like he was there was just for Levi.

 

It felt like Levi’s hair was being pulled from its roots from Eren’s rough tugs, but this just seemed to fuel Levi’s fast pace, his nails digging tightly into Eren’s hips. The pace was speeding up, both of them covered in sweat, waiting for the release.

 

Eren came hard onto Levi’s stomach, the sight of Eren with his head thrown back, shouting Levi’s name was enough to send him over the edge too. Levi collapsed next to his breathless boyfriend, both sated and exhausted.

 

“We’re going to need another shower now.”

 

Teal eyes met grey steel at Levi’s comment. After a beat, Eren and Levi burst out laughing. Laughter echoed throughout the apartment, a sound that sounded unfamiliar but yet so needed in the now less lonely flat.


	9. Fire and explosions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's that time again! This will be the last update until the end of the month as I'll be away in holiday for a fornight with limited wifi.  
> I wrote the last section of this on my phone, so aplogies if there are any mistakes/formatting issues.  
> Thank you all so much for the support I've received thus far, you guys never fails but to put a smile on my facr and I hope I can return the sentiment.  
> My tumblr is levis-dildo.tumblr.com  
> Comments/kudos and subscriptions are always greatly appreciated, as is feedback, I love hearing from people.  
> Enjoy!

The sunlight lazily strolled through Levi’s windows like it owned the fucking place, the blinds had not been drawn the previous night and now  the bedroom  was illuminated by the warm hues of morning . _Just because my entire existence depends on your firey ass ejaculating fucking sun rays down onto this measly world doesn’t mean I don’t think you’re a dick, you yellow shitball._

Levi tried to sit up and to start his customary daily routine to begin another day in fucking paradise, when he realised that he was trapped. However, this prison was a considerable amount more comely than the normal one and Levi was more than happy to be deep inside it and never leave. After a quick shower (Levi made sure it was quick, no matter how cute Eren was he was not stealing all his goddamn hot water) the two of them had fallen asleep quickly, drifting off into a peaceful slumber. Much to his dismay, Levi was not allowed to be the big spoon as Eren confessed it would be more like ‘wearing a back pack’. Levi may have tried to smother Eren with a pillow at that point.

Managing to wrench free of his lover’s grasp, Levi wiggled onto the other side of the bed to get a better look at the boy. Eren was still peacefully lost to the world, his face resembling more of a child’s, he wore the innocent, youthful look well, Levi mused. The older man decided to use the time to his ability. Since Eren was asleep and therefore unable to complain or think he was a creepy old man and leave him forever, Levi could truly study Eren’s features. Leaning in closely, slowly, Levi could see every single little pore covering Eren’s skin, every little hair on his face. He could study the exact angle of his nose and the curve of his eyebrows and the slope of his forehead and the line of his jaw and the-

Eren snuffled in his sleep. It wasn’t a snort or a snore exactly, nor was it a sigh or a groan. It was snuffle. Like the sound of a hedgehog when it was trying to find a safe passing across your garden, Eren snuffled.

_Oh my shit that was adorable. He is too precious what is this kid._

To Levi’s delight Eren made that sound again.

 _Holy fuck I need that sound more than I need air._ Levi thought as he slowly inched towards his phone. Luckily it had been placed on his bedside table out of habit, just in case someone needed to contact him in the middle of the night or if there was an emergency. Neither happened, but it was the meaning behind the ritual that counted. And now Levi had never been so glad that he anally followed his routine and that he could capture this moment on camera. If Eren decided that he had had enough of Levi, if he lost everything that he’d worked for, if everything went to shit, which was inevitable, Levi had come to terms with that years ago, Levi would have _that sound_ forever.

Wielding his phone and poised in position, Levi waited. Eren was dormant like the fucking little bitch he was. _Move you little shit before I light a bonfire under your dick to get you to fucking do something. Dance piggy, dance._

After what seemed like an age, in which Levi had pondered over many different ways to make that sound again, ways which varied in degrees of legality and infringements on basic human rights, Eren snuffled. _Praise all that is holy, I was recording._ Eren blessed the camera with another snuffle. _I’ve got a new ring tone. I am old. I am perverted. I have no shame._

“Get that camera out of my face before I rip your balls off.”

“That’s no way to speak to your lover, shit stain.” Levi was still recording. Nothing was going to stop him.

“What the fuck are you even doing?” Eren’s voice was husky and gravelly and truly doing wonders to Levi’s dick. It was a small mercy that he didn’t always sound like that or Levi would spend the day permanently at half-mast, even if he read the fucking phone book or health warnings on prescription medication.  _Side effects may cause haemerrhoids, diarrhea and death, death from my fucking sexy as fuck growl hell yeah bone me now, sunshine._

Levi was eternally thankful that Eren couldn’t hear his inner monologue, because there are some things you just can’t explain.

“I’m saving this for a rainy day, don’t mind me.”

“You are sick, old man.”

“Thanks.”

“Not in that way oh my God you fucking nerd.”

_Snap_

“No.” Eren growled, still unable to open his eyes.

_Snap_

“Don’t.”

_Snap_

“Stop.”

“Never.” Levi whispered.

“Don’t you fucki-“

_Snap. Snap snap snap snap._

“Right that’s fucking it.” Eren launched himself at Levi’s smaller form. He roared as he landed on top of his lover, wrenching the phone from his long fingers.

“No you don’t, you little shit.” Levi growled. It was time to mount his attack. Arms darting down past Eren’s grabbing hands, he proceeded to tickle Eren’s exposed ribs. Levi watched in amazement, fingers still ghosting along Eren’s ribcage, as his lover’s back violently arched, a howling laugh escaping his abused body.

Eren couldn’t run. Levi had him by the short and curlies and at his total mercy. The younger man couldn’t fight back, his body convulsing from Levi’s touch, laughing too hard to even think straight.

“You’re mine now, cranberry fucknut. You can’t-“ The rest of Levi’s gloating victory speech was cut out when it felt like his ribs had caught fire and the air was pushed out of his lungs. Eren’s hands appeared to be playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Minor underneath his armpits. Levi was trapped, at Eren’s tickling mercy. The last time anyone had even _attempted_ to tickle him had been Hanji when they were 10 years old. Hanji had been trying to evoke a response out of Levi, besides the usual ‘fuck this’, ‘fuck you’ and ‘fuck it’ that the alarmingly blunt child was prone to using. Hanji had never tried to tickle Levi again.

“Get…off…me…” Levi managed to struggle out between laughs. Eren was merciless in his retaliation, and the older man realised that he had made a mistake in provoking his lover.

“SUBMIT.” Eren screeched, never once halting his assault on Levi’s underarms.

“NEVER!”

“SUBMIT!”

“NE-STOP YOU LITTLE SHIT!” Levi howled. His lungs felt like they caving in on him, his throat was aflame from the stampede of laughter escaping his body. _Holy shit is this what death feels like._

“LEVI!”

“Fuck, fine, I submit!”

Levi curled up into a scowling heap of defeat on the bed, whilst Eren whooped in joy.

“You’re such a shit, get the fuck out of my house, fucknugget.” Levi growled.

“Aaaw, is little Levi upset?”

“Fuck off.”

Eren pulled the growling man into a tight hug, his face pressed against his neck, chuckling slightly at the snarls of protest. “But Levi, you started it.”

“Get the fuck out of my house.”

“Does Levi need cheering up?”

“Levi needs a fucking shot gun and a handle of vodka.”

Before the older man could continue to throw insults at his boyfriend like the gentleman he was, he felt Eren latch onto his neck and suck and nibble at the exposed flesh. Levi groaned as Eren began to move down past his collar bone, pausing to bite down on his sensitive nipple. He arched his back and hissed at the sensation, feeling Eren chuckle slightly against his skin.

They were both painfully hard now, leaking cocks rubbing up against each other, moaning wantonly from the sensation. Levi snatched the small bottle of lube which had been discarded onto the floor from the carnage from the previous night and squeezed some onto his open palm. His gaze met Eren’s bright eyes as he gripped both of their erections and began to pump. The sounds that left Eren’s slack mouth were obscene, reacting to every motion of Levi’s hand. Their foreheads were pushed together, staring directly into each other’s eyes, sighing their names over and over again as Levi’s hand moved up and down and up and down.

“Fuck, Levi, I’m gonna, I’m gonna-“ Eren didn’t managed the rest of his sentence, as he reached his climax, coming all over Levi’s hand. That was enough to send Levi over the edge and the two of them collapsed into a panting heap on the bed.

“I wish all mornings were as great as this one.” Levi chuckled, basking in a post-orgasm after glow.

Eren snorted beside him. “Hey Levi, you’ve got something on your face.”

Reaching a hand up to touch his face tentatively, Levi was greeted by a warm liquid of the tip of his nose.

“Disgusting.”

Eren cracked up into another laughing fit.

 

Because Levi wanted to save money on his water bill (not because he was a sex fiend and wanted to be pressed up against Eren’s naked form, no sir, Good Samaritan, save the rainforest and shit), the two of them shared a quick shower together. There was nothing overly sexual about it, as they were sated from the morning’s activities. Eren did offer to clean Levi for him, but after the older man inspected behind his lover’s ears, there was no way in hell Eren lived up to his cleaning standards and was amazed that he had slept with someone with such poor personal hygiene skills. Eren may have whipped Levi with a towel afterwards for good measures.

Since Levi’s kitchen was never fully stocked, partly because Levi was rarely in to eat and partly because he was too lazy to eat proper meals, all he could offer Eren for breakfast was toast and some out of date cereals. Eren took the toast. They both sat quietly munching on their toast, making small talk on the occasion. But they were just happy in each other’s presence, enjoying the company of their lover.

“You don’t have any photos in your flat, do you.” This wasn’t a question from Eren, more of a statement. It was true- the walls in Levi’s flat were plain white- professional. Spotless. Bland.

“I don’t have any.” He confessed, looking down intently at the crumbs on his plate.

“What? Really? You must have some surely. Family ones, stupid mug shots with friends, dodgy school photos.”

Levi sighed. “I just don’t have any photos. I have no photos of my family whatsoever, I try to forget my school days and I don’t have many friends to take photos with.”

Eren could feel that he was crossing over into dangerous territory now, knowing he had to be careful at what questions he asked. “Tell me about your friends.”

Levi barked a harsh laugh. “This won’t take long at all, at best I have 2. One of them being my boss Erwin, but I suppose that relationship is more professional these days so he doesn’t really count. Apart from that my only friend is Hanji.”

“I’d like to meet them.”

“Don’t dig your own grave there kid, she is a bit of a handful.”

“Tell me about her.”

 _Where to begin with Hanji?_ “We’ve been friends since we were little kids. We were neighbours, went to the same schools, that kind of thing. That was back when Hanji had a dick, but she’s always been a woman, and a terrifying one at that. She tells me we met when I was drawing on a sheet of paper with crayons and Hanji came along and asked to borrow one and apparently I started throwing them at her instead. I don’t remember attacking my best friend with crayons but it seems like the kind of thing 3 year old Levi would do. For some reason this didn’t scare her off and she started following me around like a fucking puppy. Eventually she wore down my defenses and we’ve been together for many years. Holy fuck, it sounds like we’re married or some shit.”

Eren smiled and Levi’s heart faltered when he saw the way it lit up Eren’s already bright eyes. “You’re lucky to have a friend like her.”

“I-I suppose I am. I treat her like utter shit and the things I’ve had to put her through the years have been fucking dreadful. But she’s always stuck by my side because she won’t ever fucking leave. I’ve never told her how much she actually means to me…”

“I’m sure she knows you appreciate her. We both know you’re not one to give speeches on your undying love for someone.”

_Just wait and see, bitch. I might surprise you on that, just wait and see…_

A vibrating sound echoed throughout the flat. “Holy shit I think that’s my phone.” Eren cried as he scurried off in search of the device. Levi could hear mumbling in the other room and decided it was rude to listen in on his boyfriend’s conversation, opting instead to wash the two plates up in the sink. He preferred to wash dishes by hand, as he knew that his washing skills were far superior to that of a dish washer. Those machines tended to miss patches of dirt. Levi never missed anything.

“Sorry about that, it was my sister.” Eren sighed, leaning against the door frame.

“She okay?”

“Yeah…she just wanted to know if I was okay and when I was coming back.”

“I suppose I’d better drop you back at some point, we’ve both got shit to do.”

 

They both got ready quickly, being men of fairly low maintenance grooming standards, meaning that they left Levi’s flat in a few minutes.

“What’s it like sharing a room with your sister?”

The young man groaned at this. “It’s not so bad I guess. The four of us got a flat together to save money. We all decided Mikasa would be more comfortable in my room as she was my sister and Jean had a _huge_ crush on her at one point, which might make it a little awkward. It’s cheaper this way, but it can get a little awkward at times…”

Levi snorted. “I bet. She ever brought anybody home?”

“Oh shit, don’t. I walked in one day, minding my own business and I didn’t realise she had her girlfriend Annie over. The things that I saw that day man…” Eren shuddered.

“Maybe we should return the favour one day.”

Levi watched in amusement as his boyfriend went bright red again, spluttering in protest.

“Hey, cranberry fucknut is back.”

“Fuck off.”

 

It was mid morning when Levi pulled into Shinganshina complex and the sun had not been up for too long in the moody autumn sky. He walked Eren to his door like the gentleman he was underneath his many layers of shit. 

"So are you going to apologise to everyone this morning?"Levi questioned, feeling like the responsible adult. He was really noticing the 10 year age gap then. 

"Yeah...it was kind of shitty of me to storm out like that and not let anyone know where I was, but I suppose it was better than blowing up in everyone's faces."

"Jesus, no wonder your sister was worried. Next time let them know where you are, shit for brains, because for some reason people care about your sorry ass."

"You're such a kind, loving boyfriend."

"And you wouldn't have me any other way."

"No...I really wouldn't." Eren murmured,  fixing his big eyes of wonder down on his boyfriend. Levi felt like his face was on fire. No, _he_ was on fire- his entire body, soul, existence felt aflame. Before his entire world had exploded when the boy with the ocean for eyes came into his life, Levi's life had felt empty, cold with very little to live for. The instances where Levi felt like air was actually pumping through his lungs, his soul ignited and burning, had always been in activites of dubious legality. Those days had, unfortunately, been the days when Levi felt the most alive. However, he had hurt the few people that cared about him and himself in the process. Age brought an increasing number of responsibilites and guilts and  _fears,_ and so Levi had left behind his old ways to pursue a mundane career in a mundane flat in a new mundane life. He was safer, sure, that was a bonus, but he was so  _empty._ Levi wanted to  _dream,_ to  _live,_ to  _feel._ Yet for so many years he did none of those things. But now there was Eren. In that moment when Levi felt like he was aflame just from the way that boy was just looking at him, he'd felt more alive than he'd ever felt before. Levi felt like he was burning brighter than he ever was before, Eren had reignited his broken spirit and set his soul ablaze in a beautiful and magnificent and _endless_ inferno.

_Holy shit, is this love?_

Their lips met for a deep, passionate kiss, tasting the essence of the other man. Levi's hands rested on Eren's broad shoulders, brushing lightly against his neck whilst one of Eren's hands landed on Levi's hip, the other tangling in his black locks. 

They broke apart hesistantly, breathing slowy, the minds that had usually been rushing ahead, constantly reeling from the distractions and anxieties that life provided had been slowed down, numbed to a peaceful state of being. 

"Thanks for being there for me yesterday, Levi." Eren whispered.

"I'll always be here for you, brat. Now go in before Mikasa files a missing person report." 

With brief goodbyes they both went their separate ways- one inside to the warmth of his friends and family, surrounded with joy, whilst the other headed out to the cold outside alone. But Levi didn't notice the nipping, biting cold trying to bite down his defenses. He had something inside of him keeping him warm now. 

 He opened the door of his cab, hesitating to get in as his mind was still intoxicated from Eren. Levi was so distracted, wandering aimlessly in his thoughts and his memories, that he didn't hear the footsteps behind him. He didnt hear the heavy breathing, no did he hear the rustling of bulky clothing drawing closer and closer until it was directly behind him.

He did feel the sharp blow on the back of his skull. He did feel the blinding pain exploding so violently from a singularity into everything. All he could feel was pain coursing through his system for barely a second, before that infinite pain collapsed into nothing, dragging Levi down with it into the blackness and emptiness of nothing. And Levi didn't feel a thing as he slipped away into unconsciousness, collapsing onto the damp ground beneath him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> C-c-c-curveball!  
> See you all at the end of the month


	10. Tightrope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Messiah of the Damned likes to play with his food.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'See you all at the end of the month'  
> Yeah, sorry about that. This is the first day since I've got back from holiday where I've been properly at home for most of the day. I go back to school later this week and my work load is going to be horrendous, so I'll try and update as much as I can. I've just published A Wolf in Armani, a Supernatural AU, so feel free to check that out too. If you've enjoyed Levi's sass and pining then I can assure you there will be a lot of that appearing in that fic.  
> Feel free to stalk me on levis-dildo.tumblr.com  
> Thank you for putting this fic past 3000 hits!  
> Once again, sorry about the wait and leaving you on that cliffhanger, I hope none of you actually died.

He drifted. He glided and soared and swam in the darkness. He was home. Inner peace had turned up and nestled closely within him, wherever that was these days. Whatever days were- time had no meaning here and was a concept long forgotten and left behind in the other place. So he floated and embraced the void for something between a second and eternity before drifting back, back and up and towards and opening up up up-

“Looks like the little bitch is waking up.”

Gruff.  The noise was gruff. Harsh syllables and merged phonetics barreled towards him. That voice filled everything. Hard, rough and cruel, a jarring disparity from the endless peace that made him want to sail his boat back against the tide of consciousness, away from what lay in wait in the depths of the ocean. But of course the current was too strong and his boat, his home, his haven, was all too willing to go sailing off into the jaws of the unknown. It yearned for adventure, having a spirit stronger than his own and he was just a passenger onboard, helpless and devoid of a purpose once it had set its sails on a course with little regard to consequence or danger.

Bright. Artificial light stabbed through his heavy lids, clawing past cornea, lens, retina, sending his brain into sensory overload. He could tell the light was from a bulb and not the sun as it was too pale, too cold and abrasive, more like an unwilling step mother which never quite replaces the real deal and made you aware of it.

“Do you want me to chuck some water on him?”

“Leave it, he’ll come round in a second.”

That’s when he was aware of the pain. A dull explosion in the back of his head brought him into complete consciousness. Blunt fingertips gouging away inside  his skull, trying to excavate a capacious tunnel through bone, the known futility of the expedition resulting in screams of anguish, echoing around and around and around and the little boat knew that it couldn’t sail back, couldn’t escape from the wailing and the screeching and-

He wanted to be sick.

He sighed. _Well done Levi, the first thing that comes to mind is fucking ‘fuck’. Fuck._

Levi. That was his name. Le-vi. The first syllable danced out of the mouth, tongue pressed to the teeth, roof of your mouth, the second was staccato, abrupt, contrasting. Balance, because everything was about balance, ying and yang, up and down, good and evil. It was the limbo in between that should be feared. It was unpredictable, could swing either way and then back round again to bite you in the ass. What was life if you couldn’t categorise it and label it and place it in a pointless sequence that made sense?

The room consisted of greys and browns and the murky colours in between. Brown boxes stacked high, brushing the high grey stone ceiling above. The stony floor was grey, the walls were grey, even the chair that Levi was trussed to was grey.

Old brown blood stains created a harrowing portrait on the ground. Paintings of  fear, pain- the true medium for depicting a tragedy.

“Nice of you to join us, Ackerman.”

To the unseeing eye, the speaker appeared to be an ordinary man. Shoulder length course hair, a straggly beard that never quite managed to come together, tall and slender, but nothing special. He was the kind of person one would spend little time on when surveying a crowed. Just one of the masses, just one fish in the shoal.

But to Levi, that man was everything.

Lead tongue in desperate need of oiling. Desert mouth disbelieving of the mirage before him. _A bad dream, just a bad fucking dream. You’ll be back in Kansas before you know it, Dorothy._ But yet the offensive lights and the pain, the brutal pain clawing his mind told Levi that this wasn’t a dream. The very plague that had haunted his sleepless nights had found its way out of his troubled mind and was there, right fucking there in front of him living and breathing the same air as him. Levi felt tainted and dirty, he needed to scrub, no, to _flay_ the very skin off his back his face his insides. He wanted to vomit because that man was _poison._ Everything he touched withered and died and he would laugh and revel in the destruction and chaos that ensued. Never feeling, never caring. A dead man that wouldn’t fucking die and be buried deep deep underground.

“It’s been a while, kid. You’re a long way from Stohess now”

“I’m not a fucking kid.” Levis words were clumsy and slurred, but there was no mistaking the venom in his voice. Venom and poison. They made a good pair.

A sanguine smile slithered onto the man’s face.  “Levi, Levi, Levi, why the hate? After all I did for you.”

“Don’t.” Levi spat. “Don’t you fucking go there.”

The man held his hands up in mock surrender. But they both knew who was in control here- the one bound and bloodied or the one with the muscle? Levi could see at least four or five other men, but that didn’t mean there were more rats lurking in the sewer.

“What the fuck are you after, Kenny?”

“Not very much, kid. I just felt like catching up, because, y’know, old time’s sake and shit.” His shoulders were relaxed, forearms resting on the back of the chair he sat on backwards, eyes concealed by the wide brimmed hat that Levi remembered all too well.

“Felt like catching up?” His voice was rising, it hurt his head but his anger was overriding his internal system. “You fucking knocked me out and kidnapped me because you wanted a fucking _chat?_ I left because I never wanted to see your fucking face ever again, wasn’t that clear or something?”

“Don’t speak to the boss like that.” Muscle #1 growled at Levi, his biceps looked sad and unused as he paced anxiously. That man was made for fighting, for hurting, for destroying, not for babysitting a disappointingly short man who couldn’t even walk right now. _Just you fucking wait, steroid dick, your balls won’t be the only shriveled thing once I’m done with you._

Levi turned to face Kenny. “You need to keep your lap dogs on a tighter leash, I thought you didn’t like them barking like that.”

Out of the corner of his eyes Levi could see the man’s muscles tensing. Kenny chuckled, the noise sounding jarringly out of place as it echoed throughout the room. “Well Levi, after you I decided I liked my pets with a little bite, bit more fun that way.”

“Was that what I was to you? A motherfucking pet?”

“Of course you were, what else do you think you were back in the day? But I’ll tell you something, you were the best pet. I never managed to train any of the other mutts to your standard.”

It felt like someone had turned the thermostat down to Levi when those words left Kenny’s mouth. “So is this what it’s all about then? So much for a fucking catch up, old man.”

“When I said I missed you, Levi, I meant it.” Kenny pushed the brim of his hat back, revealing glinting eyes that seemed to be mocking Levi. “I miss having my favourite kid having my back.”

“I left. I fucking left because I wanted to have a life again.” Levi spat.

“What life?” Kenny snorted. “You drive a taxi, a real glamorous step up from the work.”

“I was tired of being a fucking disappointment. When I worked for you I hit rock bottom and now I’ve finally managed to make a fucking life for myself and now you just couldn’t let me be fucking happy, you utter bastard. You just want to watch me suffer again.”

“Kid, once you’re in this life you don’t ever leave.” Kenny slowly stood up from his chair and paced towards Levi, hands burrowed deep in trouser pockets. “But we both know you weren’t a disappointment. You were so _alive.”_

Levi tensed. He thought he was angry, livid at that man for forcing his way back into his life and stirring a pot that had long since expired.

_But we both know he isn’t wrong._

Because that was why Levi had stayed with Kenny for so long. From a young age Levi had known that life wasn’t happy- it was cruel and mercy didn’t exist for the weak. If you didn’t fight, attempt to stumble forward after being knocked down time and time again then you’d be eaten alive. People had philosophized on the meaning of life for years, _centuries._ But Levi knew that their search for answers was in vain. Life had no meaning. There was no higher power out there, no divine path, our futures, destinies were not mapped out before our birth and could not be read in the stars. How could there be something else when he was filled with nothing, all Levi felt was _emptiness._ It barely felt like he was even breathing back then, he would have thought himself a corpse if had not been his ability to bleed. How could there still be life pumping through his veins when he felt like silence?

But then there was Kenny.

Much to Levi’s disgust that man had saved him like some Messiah of the damned. He had taken the body of the boy he had been and molded him in to something new, something that could cope and survive in the harsh environment it had found itself in. Levi was ashamed of the truth, but the lifestyle that Kenny had introduced him to had suited him. For once in his life, Levi excelled at something. He was no longer mediocre, below average, a failure as he had been previously branded. People now looked upon him with something else- fear. People _feared_ him. Despite his height, his delicate features, grown men went out of their way to avoid Levi. When he came knocking on people’s doors in the middle of the night he had the pleasure of watching many a man’s façade crumble before him, as he stepped towards them he could see the terror that lay beneath their defenses.

And he loved it.

Fists raining down in a torrential downpour sent from the heavens, for some days he felt unstoppable, unbeatable, like a _God,_ upon victim after victim after victim. Blood complimented his complexion nicely and his knuckles were permanently weeping , or so he seemed to think, rational thought was not usually required when sent to intimidate, to take out, to dispose of. For that was what Levi did- he hurt people. Rival gangs, politicians, people who owed Kenny money were sent his favourite dog for a play date. Because Levi was just a dog then, a mongrel picked off the streets.

Those people were not the ones Levi hurt most however.

Miraculously through Levi’s spiral into destruction, Hanji had still been his friend. She had tried hard, so very hard, to keep Levi safe, to keep him on the straight and narrow. Watching the person who meant the most to her become sub human, to lose their humanity and embrace their primal side was harrowing. She had begged with Levi, pleaded with him to come home, to be safe because she _cared_ about him. She cared too fucking much about a lost cause.

Levi should have been put down years ago.

But her pleas fell upon deaf ears; the only voice Levi listened to then was Kenny. Part of Levi, the human side of him that had been repressed, yearned to return to Hanji, to not hurt her anymore, to go back to how things were before in that little façade of happiness in the play of bullshit. But he physically couldn’t, and so he stayed with Kenny for a long time.

“I wasn’t alive back then.” He hissed. “I wasn’t even human. I don’t want to ever go back to the way I was. I’ve moved on and so should you.”

Because he had moved on. Levi had been saved when he met Erwin Smith and was able to make the slow climb to freedom. Even though he rarely showed it, Levi was eternally grateful for the life he now had. He loved his shitty job, he loved his overbearing best friend and most of all he loved _Eren._ Eren was more than enough to convince him to never go back. He wanted to build his life with that wonderful man, to see where they would go, what they would do together. Always together. Because being bound to a chair staring death in the eyes tended to make you realise what your priorities were. And Levi’s priority was Eren Jaeger.

_That’s why you have to tread carefully, little man. It’s not just your life this man can fuck up. You have too much to lose now, cash your chips in and run if you can. Let’s get you back to Kansas._

“Levi, I want you back in my crew.” The light, mocking tone had left Kenny’s voice. The man was getting serious now, and before long he would get angry, and that’s when Levi would truly be in danger. He already knew he was walking along a tight rope as it was, he just prayed a storm wasn’t on its way.

_You need to survive this. You need to fucking survive this._

“I don’t want to, Kenny. Please, just let me get on with my life.”

It wasn’t Levi’s usual tact; he figured that his usual rude retorts and insults would enrage the man. It’s not a good thing to piss off your captor, after all.

Kenny was now face to face with Levi. He could feel the man’s cold breath as lick across his face. The silence was deafening, the tension was suffocating and Levi couldn’t breathe with the specter from his past looming closer and closer like he did in one of his nightmares. Except this time it was _real,_ this time Levi wasn’t going to wake up with his bed sheets strewn around him, this time the dream would continue and Kenny would finally be able to have his way with Levi. There would be no more dreams after that.

The dead don’t dream.

“Kid, you may think that you’ve escaped, but you never will. You are _mine.”_

With that Kenny whipped away from Levi and slunk away, hands clasped behind his back. Levi let out the breath he didn’t realise he had been holding, but he knew this ordeal was far from over. _This is too quick, too fast, Kenny likes to play with his food before he eats it._

“You may think you can fight all you want, Levi, but you will join me again, one way or another.”

“Fuck you.” He spat, sending a globule of saliva onto Kenny’s old suit.

“So, you’re going to play it dirty then, aren’t you Levi.” The man sighed as he wiped the spit away.

“I learnt from the best.”

“You can say no to me today, Levi, but I’ll make you come back to where you belong eventually.”

“Fuck you, old man. Now let me fucking go.”

“Or what, Levi, you’ll scream for help? Kid, you should know by now that no one ever comes running for a squealer.”

His stomach plummeted as he realised, no, remembered the truth. No one was going to save him. He remembered how his targets would shriek and scream and cry and wail out for something, someone to try and save them from their fate. But no one ever did come. Help never came. Salvation is a luxury very few were able to afford and Levi knew with his ledger drenched in blood that no divine intervention, no savior, would come to his aid now.

It was time for his retribution.

_I’m not leaving this room alive._

_I won’t ever see Eren again._

“You’re no fun when you’re silent, kid. I always liked it when you got mouthy with me.”

The men that had been prowling around the room had now edged in closer to their prey that had been nicely tied down for them, ready for the taking. Levi tensed up, ready for the impending fight. But there was nothing he could do, he was defenseless, helpless and utterly, royally _fucked._ He could always suck it up, destroy what he had built, and join Kenny. It would extend his predicted life span considerably than what it was now.

But the consequences were too high. _Cash your chips in, Levi. Don’t bet when it’s too high._ Because if he ran with Kenny again then he’d put Eren in danger. He could always leave Eren, but he knew that he was not strong enough to leave the best thing about him. The brat would probably try and find Levi or something stupid like that and get himself killed. Or Levi could always pretend to be with Kenny again before double-crossing him and fleeing.

But the consequences were _too high._ Kenny would be furious, absolutely livid at Levi’s betrayal. Leaving him once had apparently angered him enough, but to lie to his face and embarrass him like that would make him far, far angrier. If Kenny ever caught up with Levi or anyone close to him again, he would hunt them down, he would make sure their death was slow and more painful than they could ever imagine.

_I just need to accept my fate. I can’t drag anyone else down with me. They’d all be better off without me anyway._

“Okay, I’ll make a deal with you.” Kenny’s eyes glittered with pure, twisted mirth. _He’s fucking enjoying this, it’s all just a game to him because he’s found his favourite toy again._ “I’ll let you go.”

Silence. Levi could hear the distant _drip drip drip_ from a leaky pipe somewhere in the building. He was too scared to even breath, one false move and everything would come crashing down upon him. One false move and he would never see Eren again.

“I’ll let you go and give you time to think about my offer.”

“…what?”

“I’m letting you go, kid. Honestly, what kind of person do you think I am, ay?”

_What’s the catch what’s the catch what’s the catch what’s th-_

“But of course I’ll be sending you out old Kenny style of course.”

The men were monoliths before him, blocking out the light, turning Levi’s world into shadows.

“Boys, give Levi the special treatment, would you.”

And Levi finally felt his retribution.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My writing play list for this chapter was really weird.  
> See you again a lot sooner than last time!


	11. Diffusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pain, pain killers and potency.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're back!   
> When I said my work load was extreme I had no idea, it's ridiculous. Quadruple maths on a Monday should not be a thing.   
> Did I mention this got another rec? I can't remember if I said something on previous chapters. Anyway, it mad me very happy.   
> Comments, kudos and the like make be very happy, you guys never fail to put a smile on my face.   
> My tumblr is levis-dildo, if you want to show me something you're better off tagging me on that. Feel free to talk to me, I've had messages asking about my day to octopus penises, so don't worry about bothering me.   
> If you didn't know, I've started another fic on here called 'A Wolf in Armani', so if you checked that out that would be most appreciated.   
> Enjoy C:

Unsurprisingly, Levi’s checkout from his brief stay with Kenny Ackerman was not a pleasurable experience. At least they were consistent. He would have been more concerned if he had been allowed to just simply stroll out of the warehouse without a single scratch.

Levi had blacked out during the beating. It had been a while since his defense mechanism had kicked in like that- too much pain would numb his senses until it looked like he was watching a film on mute. Levi would find it amusing in a perverse way, watching the men moving fast, arms, limbs, fists seeming like they were part of an old television sketch where everything had been sped up. But then standby went to shut down before he could see the end of the show and he would slip into unconsciousness with ease. He did always like to run from his problems. It was an old pair of shoes that had been shoved to the back of his closest, not worn for a long time but when they somehow found their way back onto his feet Levi would always remember why he had them. Because nothing seemed to matter when you couldn’t feel anything, nothing mattered when thoughts had left and he was left in blissful isolation.

He drowned in nothingness.

Sometimes Levi would bring his head above the water and catch glimpses of what was on the horizon, just out of his grasp. There would be shouting, loud noises. He could feel the vibrations shuddering through the floor, his face pressed against cold metal. Screeching of tyres, growling gear changes and the steady rocking told him he was in a vehicle. _I’m on the highway to hell._

Then he would be sucked under again by the powerful waves. His body was tossed to and fro, a ragdoll, vulnerable to nature with no knowledge of when he would return to shore again. If he ever did. Levi had no idea how badly he’d been beaten. For all he knew he was bleeding internally from a cracked rib, punctured lung and he was dying slowly from the inside out. Dying on the inside, collapsing like a star. However this time he would not explode into something brighter, bigger. He would just crumble and fall. There would be no final words, no last wishes or pointed looks. There would be no great reveal, nothing to send Levi away on his little boat with hope, with a destination. Just dead. Nothing. He had lived his life, through all that suffering, that sorrow and he would have nothing to show for it. His audition for the part of his dreams in the greatest play of them all had been cut short before he could truly showcase his talent. He didn’t win the star prize, there was no goody bag for his effort, no participation certificate. It would be like his life had simply been crossed out of the ledger. The world would keep turning, people would keep breathing and life would go on. It was Robert Frost whom had understood life: ‘it goes on’. But Levi would not know this 6 foot under. Levi would not know what would happen to Erwin, to Hanji, to Eren if he died. His entire world would have been snuffed out. If he died, then Levi would not be able to care about the most important people in his life anymore. His feelings, memories, dream would no longer matter.

And that was enough for him keep fighting.

There was not much he could do to keep his heart beating. All he could do was believe he could. _Don’t fucking die here, you piece of shit. Just keep breathing. You’re not dying here. Don’t let them win, you fought hard to get what you have. You dragged yourself up from the gutter and you’re not letting go of it now._

_Fight._

_Keep fighting. Keep fucking fighting._

_Eren. You have Eren._

Air was violently sucked into his lungs. Levi’s back arched as he spluttered and coughed violently on the damp floor.

_Holy fuck I’m still alive._

Well, he was for now. He had no fucking clue where he was, what time it was, or even if he would survive the next few hours. All he knew was that his body felt like lead and that his lungs felt like they were going to fail on him at any given moment.

Could he even move everything? Levi knew his spine was not broken which was a relief, but what about everything else? A full body check would have to wait, right now Levi knew he had to work out where he was. He needed to get home.

“Oh my…shit! Are you okay?”

_What sort of fucking question is that?_ Levi would have given the speaker the biggest bitch glare he had right then, but he was in too much paralyzing agony. Even rolling his eyes was out of the window, his swollen lids blocking his vision.

“I’m calling an ambulance now, hang in there!” The soft voice cried, belonging to a woman. _She sounds gentle. I like her._ Warm hands touched his wrists and Levi saw a blur of auburn flurry past his vision.

“Please stay with me.”

_I will._

 

Soft, safe. He felt safe. Levi’s battered body was held in a cocoon of warmth, his stiffness melting into the bed beneath him. His fingertips danced on top of synthetic sheets, his heart beat matched by the beeping of it’s over enthusiastic dance partner. Levi’s body felt numb, he would have felt like his mind was simply floating if it was not for the fact his throat felt like it was on fire. Footsteps came closer and out of natural instinct or reintroduced fear, Levi was no longer sure, he opened his eyes.

“Mr. Ackerman, glad to see you’re awake.”

_Get me a fucking drink before my throat explodes._ Levi tried to say, instead he made a few gargling noises.

The nurse smiled down at him as she checked his charts. “We’ll fetch you a drink right away, sir, you must be thirsty. You’ve been unconscious for 4 hours.”

The water couldn’t get down his throat fast enough. The Doctor had come in and was rambling on about ‘Indirect Orbital floor fracture’, ‘cracked ribs’ and ‘broken nose’. They needed more scans after the swelling had gone down and CT scan from when he was unconscious had revealed that there was no brain-

“Can I call someone?” He rasped. Levi’s face felt numb, _he_ felt numb. God bless painkillers.

The Doctor was taken aback, not used to being cut off during his medical ramblings. Levi felt like he should have cared about his physical state, he was lucky to still be alive after all, but he had more important things to take care of.

“You need to rest most importantly, Mr. Ackerman, anything remotely strenuous could hinder your body’s healing process.”

The nurse was giving the Doctor a pointed glare. “But there are people in the waiting room for you currently. Unfortunately hospital policy states that only family members can visit in the early hours of-“

“Send them in.” Levi growled. “They might as well be family.” He didn’t need to ask who was waiting outside for him, it was far from the first time he’d woken up in hospital anyway.

Soft muttering came from the outside of his room, probably warnings about what lay in wait inside for them. _Just ugly old me, now I’m even more repulsive._

He had expected to be ensnared in a tornado of wild hair and broken sobs like he had on previous occasions. This time, Hanji wasn’t the first one haring through the door, tear streaming down her face.

Eren looked pale. His face looked drawn, dark circles rivaling Levi’s were crawling out from underneath his radiant sea green eyes. Levi wasn’t sure if it was because he was slightly high off of painkillers or if it had been the brush with death, but he couldn’t help but suck in a breath when he met the gaze of his lover once again. _Holy shit, he truly is beautiful._

“Levi,” Eren croaked. His clothes looked noticeably crumpled, like they’d been worn straight for a few days. “Oh my god, Levi. Levi, Levi, Levi, Levi.”

He was uttering his name like a long forgotten prayer, kneeling next to Levi’s bed, tentatively stroking Levi’s outstretched hand. It was like Eren was worried he was made of glass, frangible to the point that Levi may shatter before his very eyes.

“How do you still look so beautiful when crying?” Levi mumbled. He’d blame that on the painkillers later on, but he was on a far more potent drug than what the hospital were providing for him.

It was hard to keep his sagging lids open, but Levi wanted to soak up all of the man that was before him. Levi slowly reached out his arm, the weights of his past had reappeared, dragging him down towards the ground where he belonged. But he did not care, the strength he was drawn to Eren could fucking take on gravity if it lead to that. Levi timidly caressed the side of Eren’s face, warm tears trickling in between his fingertips.

“I was so worried, Levi.” Eren blubbered. “We had no idea what had happened to you or where you’d gone and I-“

“Shh, I’m here now. I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” His gut churned at his bleak promise. Levi may have thought he was running away, but Kenny would always be directly behind him, breathing down his neck. The chase was always more fun than the kill, after all.

Hanji walked over to the other side of Levi’s bed. She had not wanting to interrupt the heartfelt reunion, but she too needed to be reassured that Levi was still alive, that he was not an illusion that had been conjured up by her grieving mind.

“I hoped I’d never see you in this bed again, little man.” Her body was suspiciously stiff, like Hanji was trying to keep herself still so that she wouldn’t collapse on the floor in an avalanche of tears.

“I’m sorry, Hanj.” Levi whispered. “I let you down again.”

“Don’t say that!” Hanji cried, her voice rising. “Don’t say you ever let me down. You couldn’t help this, you didn’t want to wind up back in hospital ever again. It wasn’t your fault.”

“It was though, it’s all my fault.”

“How is it you fault?” Eren cried, butting in before Hanji could get another word. “How could any of this possibly be your fault, Levi? You were attacked!”

“I knew them, I-“

“Who was it?” Eren’s voice had dropped to a dangerous level, his eyes were focused directly on Levi’s, unmoving in their hunt for information. “Who did this to you?”

What could he say? He could try and lie to them, create some story about mindless thugs wanting his money. It was an isolated event, they needn’t worry. They could continue on their normal lives, whilst Levi would forever be looking over his shoulder.

But he couldn’t lie to Hanji or Eren. Eren was painfully gullible when it came to Levi, he completely trusted him and would believe anything that came out of his mouth with such unconditional loyalty, because that was _Eren._ He was far too trusting, far too passionate, far too loyal for such a manipulative world, for such a bitter man as Levi. Besides, Hanji would see right through his ruse, she probably already knew who was already behind the kidnapping. They both knew that the peace wouldn’t last forever, because why should it? It’s near impossible to cut such a huge proponent for so long entirely out of your life. It was a scar tissue- buried deep within Levi, bound to rear its ugly head after years of dormancy, just to remind you that you were never truly healed, you’d always be marked, be ugly. A battle scar inside his heart, inoperable, possibly terminal.

“An old friend.” Levi whispered. “We can talk about it later.”

He gave Hanji a pointed look. Levi could tell her battle face was on, a calculating mask to hide all emotions and thoughts from her enemies. She knew there was a storm on the horizon. She knew they were going to have to fight.

“I’ll kill them.”

Levi was taken aback to hear the seathing threats from his lover. “I’ll kill them all. I’ll kill every single last one of them for what they did to you.”

“Eren.” Levi warned. “It’s okay, you don’t need to kill anyone.”

The insane look was commonly worn by Hanji to the extent that Levi was no longer surprised. But to see such a manic gleam in Eren’s eyes, an eerie smile contorting onto his face, his muscles seeming to resist the jaunting movement, Levi was scared.  He was absolutely terrified. _What’s going to happen to Eren? Will he cope?_

More importantly: did Kenny know about Eren?

Stohess had been the hub of Kenny’s activities when Levi had been there, but what brought him to Trost? Was he trying to expand his operations there? Levi had no idea how stable Kenny was in Trost, for all he knew Kenny had created a new base, which meant a lot more men to stay away from. If Kenny had the man power it was highly likely that he was aware of Eren’s existence, and thusly that meant another person had been chucked into the frying pan. More ingredients to the serving of misery that no one ordered.

“They hurt you.” Eren snarled. “And you don’t want to do anything about it?”

“I never said I was fine with being jumped, but I’m not going to murder anyone anytime soon.”

“But why do they deserve to live? They’re nothing more than animals!”

Levi sighed. “Because people have motives. I don’t believe that people are inherently evil anymore, there’s no clear line between good and evil, just a blurred mess in between where no one can decide what they are. The shit heads that did this were only following orders, if the orders weren’t given then they never would have bashed my head in.” He stroked Eren’s chin, locking their eyes together. “Besides, they did a fucking shit job because I’m still here, bright eyes. It takes more than a few testosterone filled pieces of shit to finish me off.”

“Don’t joke about this, Levi.” Hanji sighed. “We thought we’d lost you.”

Levi rolled his eyes. “Hanj, you know the last thing that goes is my trashy sense of humour.”

“It’s true,” Hanji confessed to a still shaking Eren. “When he stops making poop jokes is when you know something’s not right.”

Eren was gripping Levi’s right hand, whilst Hanji had the left. They were both clutching his hands so tightly that Levi was beginning to think that their skins had started to merge to his.

“Are you two ever going to let go of me?”

“Never.” They both chimed in.

A shrill ringing came from Hanji’s pocket, but she made no move to go and answer it, not wanting to move from Levi’s side.

“It might be important, shitty glasses, go and answer it.” Hanji hesitated, visibly torn between the two. Her phone continued to ring.

“I’m not going anywhere, answer it before I bash you around the head with my fucking heart monitor.”

Defeated, Hanji scuttled out of the small room, device in hand, leaving Eren and Levi alone.

“I thought I’d lost you.”

Levi wanted to leap up and clutch Eren close to his beaten body, wrap his arms around his lover, run his fingers through his soft locks, because it had been far, far too long since he’d done just that. The distance between them was killing him, Levi just yearned to be pressed up against Eren again and just listen to him breath in and out, in and out. The metronome to his heart could never falter, or Levi would lose beat completely, the beautiful melody they had managed to create together couldn’t last without the help of the other.

No matter how much he wished to do that, Levi couldn’t. He physically couldn’t. There was only so much pain killers could do, and Levi’s body was too stiff, the attack had left him aching and near incapable of movement. It looked like Eren was going to have to come to him, but his boyfriend was too distraught to think straight, it appeared.

“I thought I’d never see you again.” Levi sighed. There was no point trying to console Eren, instead Levi decided that the best plan of action was to go along with Eren.

Steel met the sea. The big orbs of wonder sought for answers, for comfort in the bluntness of metal. Hesitantly, Eren brought his face in close to Levi’s. The lips were leagues apart, it seemed, as their foreheads were pressed together. Shallow breathing, fluttering eyelids, silent room. Levi refrained from attacking his boyfriend’s vulnerable lips, not wanting to come across too needy, too desperate from the ordeal.

Levi wanted to speak. He had so much to say right there and then. As his boyfriend brought their lips together, all Levi wanted was to confess everything. _I thought I was never going to see you ever again._

It was like their lips were barely touching, Eren holding back out of fear of damaging his fragile lover. His skin looked like paper and he couldn’t bear to see more tears. _I don’t ever want to be away from your side ever again._

His lips were like a feather, fluttering against Levi’s mouth, but they still managed to make him fly. Levi’s hands snaked in between Eren’s brown tendrils, whilst Eren lightly cupped Levi’s cheek, avoiding the bruises. _You kept me fighting. I kept on fighting because I didn’t want to go to a place where you wouldn’t be._

The world passed by outside. Inside, Eren and Levi had some catching up to do. _I want to stay like this forever._

_Holy shit, is this love?_

Uncertainty had always plagued Levi’s life. It always used to be whether or not he would survive the week, would he be able to get out of the hole he had dragged himself into? Now he was unsure how long he’d be able to run away from Kenny, how long would he be able to keep what he had worked so hard for?

But with Eren, he was home. He was sure.

_I’m in love with Eren Jaeger._

The acceptance made Levi’s heart sigh, it felt like it had opened up and Levi was sure that everybody could see what burned inside him as the feelings were so powerful, so bright. Levi wanted the whole world to know what was growing from his heart. He wanted Eren to know, most importantly, but love confessions on a hospital bed were not what Levi wanted to look back on in years to come, if he lived that long. But he would always remember the soft kisses, the tender hands and that warm feeling that was not the pain killers, diffusing lazily though his body.

Levi smiled into the kisses.

Eren pulled back slightly, their foreheads still connected. “Why are you smiling?” He murmured.

_Because I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you._

“I’m happy, Eren. I’m really fucking happy.”

“Even though you’re in hospital?”

“I’m with you, Eren, I wouldn’t trade this for the world.”

_I love him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What, no cliffhanger? About time.   
> I know the last few chapters have been quite angst heavy and I hope to have some more dumb fluff reappearing.   
> See you next time.


	12. The blind man sees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> War wounds and battle scars heal, but the soldier is still sent away limping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was originally meant to be just a filler chapter, much to my disgust, but I was happy with how it turned out.   
> This week and a bit (yeah, sorry) has been ridiculous, but the highlight easily has been the fan art I received from drinkingchildtears which you can view here http://drinkingchildtears.tumblr.com/post/97517571504/i-drew-levi-for-the-first-time-i-hope-he-looks (I want to post this as a link, if you know how please tell me I'm dumb) I've never had fan art before so I may have screamed a bit. Or a lot. I loved it, thank you.   
> Comment/kudos/bookmarks and the like are always loved and get me through my week.   
> Find me on levis-dildo.tumblr.com, message me if you want me to see something or just talk.   
> Sorry for the delay, enjoy.

A week had flown by in the hospital without Levi really noticing, as terrible day time soap operas sucked his awareness for time away from him. When the swelling had gone down a more thorough inspection of his face could be done. It appeared there would be no permanent damage, physically at least. The fractured eye socket would heal over time (the Doctor had freed the trapped tendon in an entirely traumatic experience which Levi was keen to forget), as would the cracked ribs. There was nothing else the hospital could do for him and his sorry ass was now taking up a bed and so Levi was sent on his way, bruised and battered.

Not before the police questioned him.

It seemed that the nature of Levi’s injures and the circumstances of his arrival had caused the doctors suspicion and then the police turned up to check things over. Yet another young man had been rushed into hospitals after an assault. It was common, just a usual routine investigation for them. They didn’t care for Levi’s stories, just whether or not he had any solid evidence to put some fucker away and they could get on with their lives.

A duo had turned up, of course it was only two. A greying man holding on to the remains of his youth, his face wrinkling with pride at the battles it had seen. He had come accompanied by a younger woman, not too young to seem ineffective, not too attractive to make men second guess her judgement and ability. Both in pristine uniform, both sharing the same waning grimace on their faces.

_About fucking time you assholes showed up._

They had asked him the routine, standard questions in the routine, standard interview about the routine, standard crime.

And Levi nearly told them the truth.

He could feel his tongue bucking as it wanted to tell them exactly what happened. _I was kidnapped, threatened and attacked by an old crime lord who wants me to join his crew again after all these years and won’t take no for a fucking answer and now I can feel the days slipping away as that bastard is going to fucking kill me save me you fucks do something fucking useful and help me goddamit help me help._

“I have no idea who it was, it was dark.”

Because if Levi told them about Kenny, his gang, his crimes then there would be hell to pay. Kenny had connections everywhere. If he went down, Levi would go down further, because Kenny always had to be on top. He would come home from work one day to find Eren’s corpse strewn in the middle of the room or something as equally foul. Kenny wasn’t usually one for murder, but when revenge was on offer he made sure to get his money’s worth. Levi would have to find some other means of getting out of the web he had been dragged back into. Patience was key.

“Are you sure?” The woman had asked, Levi decided to call her ‘canteen dinner lady’. It must have been the grimace that reminded him of the expressionless women who used to shovel overcooked pasta onto his plate who couldn’t bring themselves to look at him.

“Did you catch any glimpses? Anything could help us bring these criminals to justice.” The man had insisted. Levi called that one ‘greying recently divorced uncle in mid-life crisis’. It may have been the slight paunch that convinced him.

“I didn’t see anything at all, I’m sorry I couldn’t have been of anymore use to you.”

“Son,” Uncle Desperate was giving him the Intense Parental Supportive But Still Judgemental gaze, _I’m better than you but I don’t want you to know it because I’m working for the government_ “Withholding information will mean that the people who did this to you will never pay for their crimes.”

“You may think you’re protecting someone, but more people will continue to get hurt,” Suicidal Lunch Lady stated, no expression or emotion in her voice at all. Emotion was not part of the uniform, or personality apparently.

They had left shortly after that. There was no information, no evidence and it looked like they had another case that would be swept under the rug and forgotten about.

Levi couldn’t bring himself to care.

He was given indefinite paid leave from work, much to his protests. Erwin had come rushing in as soon as he could. Levi had never seen Erwin panic or lose his cool, but as the man had leant over his beside he couldn’t help but notice the slight tremors in his hands.

“Come back to work when you’re healed, you need to get some rest, Levi.”

“I can work tomorrow, I don’t need sick leave.”

“Levi you’re having a holiday, your shifts will be covered. Rest. Relax. See Eren. Spend time with Hanji I don’t mind, as long as you’re not working.

“But I’m f-“

“That’s final.”

“I hope a pigeon shits on your fucking eyebrows when you leave.”

The first time Erwin and Eren had met was in the hospital. Actually, the first time Eren had met Hanji was in hospital. _We always fucking end up back here._ Erwin was keen to meet the person that had managed to thaw Levi’s glacier defences and the two seemed to hit it right off.

“So much for only a professional relationship, anyone could see that he cares for you.”

Levi couldn’t bring himself to reply to that, staring intently at the fruit bowl he had received as a gift from Hanji for some reason. He knew Erwin cared for him, he knew Erwin looked out for him, he knew Erwin considered Levi a friend. Somewhere along the way Levi had lost his connection with the blond man, their relationship had been left unattended and only the smoking embers of what had once been a roaring fire remained. He had just unintentionally shut himself away piece by piece and they had become strangers. _I owe that fucker a drink when this is all over._

He laughed at that.

Hanji had driven him and Eren back to Levi’s flat in Sawney. Eren and Levi were squashed up in the back, their knees pulled right up to their chest. Levi was still too high on painkillers to really care about his cracked ribs so he just relaxed into the knackered leathery upholstery, Eren’s hand gently squeezing his thigh. Hanji babbled away in the front, about her work, about Moblit, anything to distract Levi from thinking about Kenny.

The stairs had never been so steep and Levi couldn’t bring his legs up high enough to climb them. No words were exchanged as Eren carried him up bridal style, resting his head gently on top of Levi’s. Eren’s breath was warm, calm and Levi wanted to nuzzle in closer. He had missed being held by Eren, he had missed his touches his kisses his breathe caressing his skin.

Hanji had not gone up with them, realising that the two needed some time alone together. The sound of her driving away could be heard as Eren cradled Levi into his flat. He was perfectly capable of walking again, but he was oddly content being carried by his boyfriend. The memories of the night when Eren had had one too many came flooding back and Levi couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. _My how the tables have turned._

“You okay?” Eren had asked as he kicked his shoes off at the door, shutting the door with foot as he trudged on in to Levi’s freezing apartment.

“I was just remembering the time when I carried your drunk ass up several flights of stairs. Never thought I’d get the favour returned.”

“Hey, you helped me out that night by not leaving me in the dumpster or fleecing me.”

“I did think about it, but you looked too cute to take advantage of in that way.”

“Mikasa would have hunted you down and buried you alive.”

“And that is why I like your sister, she gets shit done, unlike you, you lazy fucker.”

Eren gently rested Levi on the bed, the crease between his eyebrows appearing at the concentration. _He looks adorable. He always looks adorable. I hate everything fuck this._

“I want you to meet Mikasa properly.”

Levi hauled himself onto his side so as to be face to face with Eren, who had crawled onto the bed with him.

“I’ve already met your sister.”

“I know that, but I want you to properly introduce you two. I want you both to get to know each other, like at dinner or something.”

A shy smile broke out on Levi’s face. “I’d like that. We should do the same with Hanji.”

Eren laughed a little. “I’ve gotten to know her quite well actually, I don’t know why you didn’t want me to meet her because she is wonderful.”

“I think it was the circumstances, because if we had been anywhere else she would have fucking pounced on you and tried to dissect you or some shit because she has no idea how the fuck I ended up with such a hot piece of ass for a boyfriend.”

“I’m only with you so you can drive me places.”

“And I’m only with you because I like taking advantage of naïve pretty boys because I’m a fucking cougar.”

“You’re so full of shit.”

“Likewise. But we’re still going out to dinner with Hanji.”

“I’d like that.”

Pounding hearts, shaky breaths. Stillness. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like an age, as they were enjoying the silence that was so rarely enjoyed in such a deafening city. It was a time for catching up on the time that they had missed, for reacquainting with the other’s heat, their temperature, their presence.

“What happened, Levi?”

The cords of the elevator snapped and plummeted down down down in Levi’s stomach.

_You’re a long way from Stohess, kid._

_I miss having my favourite kid having my back._

“Who did this to you?”

Throat constricting, please stand back as the doors are closing, the train was departing for confession time and Levi had somehow found himself trapped on board, suffocating from the invisible people surrounding him. There were no delays on the tracks ahead, it was a one way, no stopping journey where there was a bright-eyed shit waiting for him on the other side, with no idea about the ride he was having to endure.

_Kid, you may think you’ve escaped but you never will._

“Please, please don’t shut me out, Levi.”

_You are mine._

“Please don’t hate me for what I’ve done.” Levi whispered. The cold bonfire of anxiety was ablaze in his chest and there was nothing he could do to put it out. _What the fuck are you doing fuck this fuck you no don’t say anything he’ll think you’re disgusting, fucking filthy and he’ll leave you even more broken than you were before. Fuck this fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck-_

“Levi.” It was just a whisper, nearly too quiet to be heard. Tender fingers traced the side of Levi’s face, brushing his dark hair away from his eyes. “We all make bad decisions, some of us fuck up so unbelievably that we think that we’ll never be able to get back to the way we were before. But what you did in the past is done, you are not the same person you were yesterday.”

Fingers trailed down his face, bringing his chin up for their eyes to collide. “Please, let me in.”

And so he did.

No secrets can be kept from the ocean, and as Levi gazed into the endless blue horizon he confessed all. The tides of anxiety and doubt were nothing compared to the vast expanse of calm water before him, and Levi could only dip his toes in at the moment. But he wanted more. He wanted to swim and swim and swim for as long as he could, get as far away from the shore where all his worries resided. And when he could swim no more, he would drown.

Levi would be happy to drown in those eyes.

He would not fight as his body descended into the deeper, darker parts of the ocean, because all of the ocean was beautiful and Levi wanted to explore _everything._ He would sink down into the depths where no polluted air could reach his tired body and crawl inside and fill his body with the putrid shit that he needed. In the ocean he would be pure, he would be clean. He would be _free._ His lungs would cave in, unable to breathe as the water engulfed him and there would be no crying out, no fear. Because that’s what love feels like. Dying in serenity, a peaceful destruction.

“What are we going to do?”

“You’re…you’re not leaving?” Levi was surprised, so surprised and so very fucking relieved that Eren hadn’t gotten up and left midway through speaking. But there must be some catch, after all, it couldn’t be that easy. He knew Eren was wonderful, the star prize at the raffle that was so unbelievably larger than life and perfect that no one ever felt like they deserved it when it was presented to them.  They’d won it, but had they earned it?

“Levi,” That voice sent shivers down his spine.

But what came next had an even more profound effect on him.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

_What do I even fucking say? What the fuck do I do?_ Levi was clueless, but every fibre of his body was telling him to prove Eren wrong. _I’m a fucked up train wreck of a person why the fuck are you still here?_

“Why?”

As Eren looked at him incredulously, fishing for words Levi’s mouth started to run away from him. “You heard what I did, I’m a vile excuse of a human, I’m a fucking dog, all I do is hur-“

“No you’re not-“

“I broke bones, I caused pain and you know what? I didn’t care. I just did my job day in day and day out without giving a fuck about the pain I caused.”

He’d forgotten to breath, sharply inhaling before confessing for the second time that day.

“I don’t deserve to be alive.”

It hurt to say those words aloud, they physically burned as they clawed their way out of Levi’s mouth and towards Eren. It pained Levi to let Eren hear something so hurtful but it was the unfortunate truth. There was a spot in hell reserved for Levi, and he fully embraced his fate. Kenny would find him again and finish his work and there was nothing Levi could do about it.

“Levi. Shut up.”

The harsh words brought Levi’s attention straight back to Eren, surprised at the sudden outburst. Levi was about to say something but Eren beat him to it, and the determined glint in his eyes told him that he shouldn’t dare try and interrupt him.

“Listen here, and listen fucking good. You are not a bad person. Don’t fight me on this, because you may be a smart man on some things, Levi, but when it comes to yourself you are thick as shit. You fucked up a long time ago, you went off the rails and it’s understandable, hell, it’s amazing that after what happened to you that you’ve turned out the way you are. You have a stable job, you have a best friend who would jump off a bridge for you if you asked her too, you have a fucking boyfriend and do you know why?”

_I don’t know, I don’t know why. Help me._

“Because you’re a good person, Levi. No, that’s not good enough to describe you. You’re a brilliant person. You hurt people in the past, but you bring people so much more joy. For a man that tends to shut himself away from the world you have such a large heart and you care for people so fucking much. The world doesn’t get to see the best parts of you and that makes me sad because I know you’re radiant.”

“My mum always told me to fight for what I love and I won’t stop until you see the person that you truly are, because you deserve to be happy. I’m not going to leave, Levi, because I love you.”

Eren was lying. He had to be lying. But the more Levi looked at Eren the more he wasn’t so sure. Because Eren looked so serious, so genuine that he was either an exceptional liar or-

“What?”

Eren leaned in closer to Levi, the older man’s body tingling and burning and he still had no idea what to do or what to feel because none of this should even be happening to him. He felt Eren’s lips press close to his and he shivered involuntarily at the contact.

“Levi Ackerman, I love you.”

He felt like he had been kicked in the chest. The emotions hurt so much but Levi never wanted the beatings to stop, because it was the kind of pain that Levi knew was worth everything. Right there right then, Levi felt alive. His overflowing heart felt like it finally had a purpose, it felt used, it felt loved.

_Eren loves me._

It was the truth and the corners of his mouth curled up from the happiness seeping through his veins, staring up at his boyfriend, his lover with nothing but wonder in his eyes. Levi’s fingers curled around Eren’s shirt front, never wanting to let go.

_Eren loves me Eren loves me Eren Jaeger fucking loves me._

“I love you too.”

It was no more than a murmur because Levi’s chest was constricting to the point that breathing was a struggle, because he was suffocating on Eren.

_Holy fucking shit this is love because I love Eren and Eren loves me fuck fuck oh fuck shit fucking fuck fuck I love him fuck._

For the first time since he was a small child, Levi knew he was loved. And he never wanted to forget it ever again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What I had planned for this chapter has been pushed to next week and I'm kind of stoked about writing shenanigans again. No angst (hopefully), just fluff and dorkiness.  
> See you next time.


	13. Mending, Healing, Feeling.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bones heal, bruises fade and life as ever keeps rolling on. Sometimes a cause for celebration helps numb the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trash queen returns to the garbage dump.  
> I said I wasn't going to abandon this fic, thanks for all that have stuck by me and not given up either.  
> Sorry if I've left it so long that you've forgotten what this silly story was about.  
> This is more of an interlude chapter filled with fluff to make up for the angst trip.  
> I haven't been well and I'm just happy to get back into the things I enjoyed before.   
> Comments and kudos make my day so thank you if you take the time to do so.

Cracked ribs were a pain to heal as you could never quite tell when they’d mended properly. Levi was at his body’s mercy for weeks, being constantly reminded from the dull ache in his thorax of that night. The bruises faded over time, the mottled canvas returned to the smooth whiteness that everyone was familiar with, as comfortable as they could be around him. If no one could see the injury, the pain, then they tended to assume that everything was okay. They didn’t care if he was brilliant, but as long as Levi could function and wasn’t offensive to look at then the world would keep on turning and Levi would keep on plugging away like the good little girl scout he was _always prepared and all that fancy jazz-hand shit._

He had heard nothing from Kenny Ackerman.

It was niggling inside of him, the illusion of safety he had been allowed to have. Levi was not sure if he felt blessed to have some extra time with Eren, with his friends, but the constant fear that everything was going to crash around him at any given moment made it all feel very… _bittersweet,_ like he had been giving a fatal diagnosis that would not quite kill him just yet, just prolong the suffering in the selfish way that made it all the harder to go. He had a little bit of time to fulfil his life’s ambitions, to fall in love all over and say goodbye to those nearest and dearest to him. Because Levi knew that the disease of Kenny Ackerman had been crawling through his lungs for all those years and had simply been waiting for a time to wrap his fingers around and squeeze the life out of him, fill his organs with that putrid air once more and laugh at the nadir of his one-time protégée’s life.

As much as Levi was willing to fight for what he had, he was very aware of the fact he would most likely lose. He would probably never reach 30 and Levi was not sure how he felt about that. On the one hand he would be forever young and all that manic pixie dream girl bollocks, which seemed like a fantastic idea if you were young, dumb and had very little to live for besides aesthetics, which were entirely superficial and therefore changed over time, and going out and partying your life away; a charade which became tiresome around the same time that maturity set in.

“Levi, I’ve had some great news!”

He found himself sitting at his flat-packed special offer table and chairs, his mug off coffee had somehow gone cold when Levi had been lost in his thoughts. It was unusual for him to forget coffee, but then again his mind did tend to be elsewhere at the moment. He couldn’t imagine why, he’d been off the Tramadol for a while now.

Eren was standing in the doorway, looking as confusingly perfect as Levi always found him, the smile that he had fallen in love with and only had a finite amount of time to see again was spreading across his face. Not like a disease, Levi was disease there, but like hope and warmth and life, like how ivy always managed to find a way, even amongst the darkest of places.

“Reiner and Bert are engaged!”

Levi smiled, like he was expected to. He hoped he hadn’t ruined their lives too. “Your friends are getting married, Eren, you’re old.”

The younger man groaned dramatically, reminding Levi that Eren had only been an adult for a short span of time and still had remnants of the petulant child he had once been. “Don’t remind me, but hey, I’m not the one turning 30 this year, old man.”

Not that Levi would ever reach that.

“Have they set a date for the wedding yet?”

“They were looking at some time next year as they don’t want to wait. Reiner will probably be stuck between wanting to wear a dress and wanting Bert to wear a dress.”

The thought of Reiner’s bulging muscles squashed into a delicate lace wedding dress stood next to a sweating Bert (that kid was constantly sweating, much to Levi’s horror) in a matching dress brought a smile to their faces.

“I bet they’ll have kids at some point.”

“Reiner and Bert would be the ultimate parents and nothing will convince me otherwise. No one will want to pick on a kid with a Dad like Reiner Braun.”

“But I thought it was mumma Reiner.”

“Reiner fulfils all required roles for both parents so he can be either.”

Somewhere along the line Eren had practically moved in with Levi. There had been no words discussed on the matter and no official agreement, but Levi had noticed that more and more of his lover had gradually flowed into his life. The oversized toothbrush holder that had always held the one lonely toothbrush now had a bigger, brighter friend for company, the towel rack with the many towels which were never needed finally had a purpose, even the ridiculous amount of mugs that Levi had received over the years, usually as presents from acquainted well-wishers whom had no idea what to buy for a single man with no hobbies or purpose but still wanted to conform to the expected social niceties, were actually being drunk from. There was more Eren everywhere in his life, and Levi was completely happy with that. Everything seemed warmer these days.

“They’re going out for drinks tonight and I, well, _we_ were wondering if you wanted to join us.”

To say that Levi was slightly taken aback at the invite would have be an accurate statement. It had been a long time since Levi had been out for drinks, let alone with anyone besides Hanji and whomever had the misfortune of being her partner at the time. Levi didn’t do socialising, contrary to popular belief. He couldn’t remember the last time had even been inside of a bar, chauffeuring the roaring tide of drunks back from the various watering holes dotted around the city tended to make one want to avoid those kind of places. Levi liked to drink at home in his own company at his own pace. No paralysing lights, no twats bashing into you and no disgusting toilets that should have been decommissioned long before he was born.

“I’d love to go.”

Because in all honesty, Levi could not remember the last time he had been out. The unsociable hours of a taxi driver tended to destroy all hopes of a social life and the libido to party was pretty much non-existent after so many night shifts in a row.

Levi would probably not make it to 30.

_So you’d better start living, you piece of shit._

He never would have expected his life to take the direction it had. Levi never would have imagined the scenario that would have led to him celebrating the surprise engagement of a gangly human bucket of sweat and a homosexual Arnold Schwarzenegger with a rag-tag bunch of students after a near death kidnapping experience.

_Life is fucking weird._

The venue of choice for the spur of the moment engagement party was a frequented bar of Eren and co. _104 th _was a popular student bar and Levi had spent many a night carting drunk kids trying to get off in the back home to their miserable dorms and cramped box rooms. It was in that moment that Levi felt incredibly old. He was surrounded by barely adults, dogs finally let off the leash and were desperate to run around and sink their teeth into _something,_ and yet he was the intruder, the cat amongst the pigeons, in which the cat was missing a leg and the pigeons were even dumber than usual and twice as likely to fly _splat_ into your windscreen.  

“Reiner and Bert are already inside,” Eren informed him, pocketing his phone. “Jean and Armin should be around here somewhere.”

Apparently it was the ‘usual crew’ out that night, with the inclusion of Eren’s new mysterious boyfriend. Levi already knew Jean, Armin, Reiner and Mikasa, but there would be a few new faces that he would meet tonight. He had only ever seen Bert from a distance and heard vivid descriptions to the extent that he felt like he knew the kid on a personal level. If the new people were anything like Eren’s other friends then there were sure to be slightly insane, weird, brilliant people.

Hanji had agreed to be a designated driver for the night as Levi refused to step into a taxi, he would rather walk (see: stagger) home than risk being taken home in an awkward silence by one of his co-workers. Anyway, Hanji was more than happy to oblige, partly because she was a good friend and partly because of the possibility of drunken videos of Levi. He could always rely on Hanji to be a Grade A piece of shit.

The club was nauseatingly vivid on the inside, the dark walls pulsating with vibrant lights bouncing all around the dingy room. It was surprisingly classy for a suposide student dive, spacious seating area kept separate from the already filling dance floor, potted plants (that could not be smoked) and artwork skirting the room. Reiner and Bert had reserved a private booth for the outing, which relieved Levi to no end because it meant he now had a place to escape from the mass of people if he so wished to.

They found Reiner in Bert in the booth, a small seating area that overlooked the dance floor with a quick route to the bar. Mikasa was already there, sitting next to a stoic blonde girl, whom appeared to be rather short if you took away her killer bitch heels. She had already earned Levi’s respect.

“Thank you for coming!” Cried Reiner, leaping up from his seat besides Bertholt to grip Eren in his customary tight hug. Bert stood behind his now fiancé, a shy smile on his features as he shook Levi’s hand.

“Nice to finally meet you.” The tall kid mumbled.

Levi craned his neck to offer him a smile of his own. “Likewise, congratulations on the engagement.”

The way Bert’s face lit up at the mention of the engagement was terribly endearing. It was clear that the two of them were horribly, disgustingly in love. Usually Levi would have passed judgement on being engaged at such a young age but it was painfully obvious that Reiner and Bert did not want or need anyone else besides each other, so why shouldn’t they get married? Why wait when the one person who makes you light up is right there in front of you? Why-

“Levi!”

His train of thought was interrupted by Reiner unceremoniously yanking him off the floor in a tight embrace. In reality, Levi had only known Reiner for a short period of time, but the big man made it feel like they had been childhood friends, running havoc in the small-town neighbourhood somewhere in Europe that neither of them grew up in.

“I’m glad you could come and party with us.”

“Yeah, well, someone needs to keep an eye on you brats.”

The booming laugh that erupted from the German caused people from the other side of the club to turn at stare. “Are you sure you’re up for that, süssling? I bet you won’t be able to see straight.”

“Levi can’t see straight anyway.” Eren quipped from behind him.

“Fuck off.”

They sat on the sofas whilst they waited for the rest of the entourage to arrive. Reiner and Bert snuggled up close to each other, Reiner’s arm snaking protectively around Bert’s waist.

_If Eren did that to me I’d probably deck him and shit on his face._

Levi had sat next to the blonde girl. She had quietly introduced herself as Annie and no more words were needed to be said. He could see them getting along just fine. Eren was talking to his sister, Mikasa laughing at something he had said.

“Eren is one of the only people that can do that.”

Annie was smiling wistfully at the siblings of them. “She is always so guarded and careful around everyone, but with Eren, it’s like he thaws her.”

“Eren does have that effect on people.” Levi agreed.

“He’s a great guy.”

“I know.”

Jean and Armin came wandering in with a freckled man in tow. Jean wanted to get started on the drinking but he was shut down swiftly by freckles.

 “Wait for Connie and Sasha, Jean.” The kid scolded, yanking Jean’s ear. “We can’t start celebrating until everyone gets here.”

“Yeah, Jean-bo!” Eren shouted. “Listen to your mother for a change.”

“Fuck you, Jaeger.”

“That’s Levi job.”

“JESUS FUCKING CHRIST, EREN.”

Levi turned round just in time to see a short guy with a shaved head and a shrieking girl barrel rolling onto the sofas directly by Reiner and Bert. Levi was introduced to the manic duo and freckles as ‘Levi, the cougar who bagged the Jaeger booty’.

He didn’t deny it.

Jean introduced Levi to the rest of the crew. “The short stack is Connie, crazy over there is Sasha and Mr. Sunshine is Marco Polo.”

“Knock it off, Jean,” Marco groaned. “That joke was never funny to begin with.”

“Shhhh, you love it.”

“You wouldn’t know what I loved even if you looked at it straight in the mirror.”

Naturally, the statement went straight over Jean’s head, the oblivious fool clutching his heart in mock pain at Marco’s comments. Before the bickering between the two could continue Reiner cleared his throat.

“Now that everyone is here, I’d like to thank you all for coming to our little get together.”

“You mean piss up!” Sasha shrieked.

“Sasha, hun, we’re classier than that. We don’t get pissed, we get ABSOLUTELY FUCKING HAMMERED!”

Levi snorted as the students cheered at the questionable statement, if they were that loud sober then he knew that his ear drums were going to be assaulted that night, along with the remaining scraps of his dignity. They were giving Hanji a run for her money, a feat which Levi thought was near impossible.

Bert had returned with the first tray of drinks, planting them down with surprising care for someone whose legs were nearly as long as Levi was. Sasha let out a primal shriek as she dove for the vodka and lime, drinking the spirit like it was water. No one batted an eyelid.

“Now guys, who proposed to whom?” Marco asked, leaning forward with a dreamy look in his eyes. “I need details!”

The couple shared another of what seemed like an endless amount of intimate looks, a healthy blush spreading over Bert’s cheeks.

“Oooh, I bet it was super romantic!” Sasha squealed.

“I was going to propose to Bert in the restaurant where we had our first date,” Reiner launched into the epic recounting, hand gesture setting at maximum. “I had everything planned out for months- I even called up the restaurant to make sure they were on board with my plan and knew when to leave us alone. We had just ordered dessert and I could feel myself starting to sweat. I looked at Bert because I was worried he was on to me, he is clever our Bert. But then I looked over to see that Bert was _drenched-“_

“Bert sweats a lot anyway!” Connie interjected.

“He just needs to cool himself down because he’s too hot all the time.” Reiner sassed. “Anyway, Bert was sweating _more than usual,”_ a pointed glare was sent Connie’s way “and he was shaking, so I asked him if he was well. Bert then gets up from the table, looks me dead in the eye and I can feel my heart thumping as he gets down on one knee.”

Shrieking of delight ensued for the next few minutes, whilst Levi and Annie sat back quietly to view the chaos. They were not ones to dive face first into the conversation, especially when Levi had just met half of the crew gathered around the small table in celebration of two lonely people finding something to hold on to as they were carried away on the meandering path that they had been chucked on. So he listened, he smiled and he forgot about the life he had tried to leave behind as he watched happiness.

*  * *

“JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEANNNNNNNNN-BOOOOOOOOOOO”

It was not even 9 yet.

“JAEEEEEEEEEEEEGGGGGGGGGGGERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMBASTIC.”

It was not even 9.

“JEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-“

“-REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN.”

Levi swiftly went to drown his sorrows at the bar, he didn’t care if it was lager or 100% pure ethanol that would not only make hairs finally grow on his pale chest but would probably make him blind for the next 50 years. Levi loved his boyfriend very much, but sometimes, especially when he was drunk, he was a hopeless mess. As long as the hulking presence of Reiner and the sharp eyes of Mikasa were there, Levi knew he could leave him alone _just for 5 fucking minutes of peace a quiet._

Unfortunately, peace and quiet in a nightclub was never going to happen, but in comparison the screaming and the wailing of 19/ 20 year olds it was blissful silence.

“Vodka, double shot.”

“I’m impressed you can drink that stuff neat.”

A smile that was too warm and sunny to be found in a pit of debauchery greeted Levi as he turned to face the speaker.

“I’m told that not even pure spirits can be as strong as by disdain for fun.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.” Marco smiled as he occupied the bar stool next to him. “I mean, if you were as boring as you make out to be then there’s no way you’d be with a guy as excitable as Eren.”

Levi smirked. “Well you know, opposites attract.”

“To some extent, I mean, on the surface Bert and Reiner seem like polar opposites, but once you get to know them both they have an odd harmony. They’re different but have enough in common to make it work.”

“To Bert and Reiner-the power couple.”

Shot glasses clinked as the men downed their drinks, Marco pulling a face as the alcohol burned down his throat.

“I don’t know why I drink, to be honest.”

“Because you’re under 20 and in full time education?”

“Must be the student loans.”

“My tax return forms cry in pity.”

Marco was nice. It was unusual for Levi to feel at ease around someone he’d just met, but the freckles and the honest smile made him actually want to make friends and talk about his life. Either that or Eren was a very bad influence on him. _Fuck that kid for making me approachable I worked hard on the icy death wall of doom look._

“So,” Levi began after downing his second shot. “What brings a guy like you to the sad drunks’ corner?”

Marco laughed shyly. “I just needed some air, it can get intense up there and I find it hard to be around them when it gets like that.”

An interjection of Armin’s high-pitched scream and Jean’s loud cackle could be heard. The older man couldn’t help but notice the kid’s downcast eyes that he tried ever so hard to conceal, but a charade that had been played for so long became more difficult to hide over time. “Speak to me, kid.” Levi drawled. “I just met you and all but Uncle Levi has been around the block a bit and has seen a few things to know when someone’s trying to bottle up their shitty emotions.”

Sighing, Marco scratched his neck bashfully. “Am I that obvious?”

“Kid, you’ve been rumbled. I might not be the fancy student here but driving the shit mobile around this place has given me a large helping of common sense.”

Necking his drink for confidence or to try and stop his hands from shaking slightly, Levi wasn’t entirely sure, but Marco started to stammer his way through his confession.

“I may have accidentally developed feelings for my straight best-friend and now it’s burning away at me and I can’t escape it.”

Marco sighed and placed his face on the smooth marble bar top. “We’re so close and I can’t lose him.”

“Is this Jean?”

The student nodded with his face still pressed down flat on the bar. “I feel like I’m suffocating.”

“So what are you going to do about it?” Levi couldn’t do sympathy for shit, cracking a smile was hard, but one thing he could do was plan and move forward. If life gives you lemon and pile of horse shit, you must advance, advance, advance, otherwise you’ll just be left in a pile of oddly scented dung - _and I am so glad that no one can hear my thoughts sometimes fucking hell._

“I need to get over him.”

“You’re not going to tell him how you feel, get it out there?”

_Wait, when the fuck did I start giving relationship advice I have 2 friends and a boyfriend and I’m nearly 30 and I have made children cry just by fucking looking at them. Mud has more idea about what people like than I do, I am practically a massive mutant dying fish at this point._

“I can’t do that.” Marco croaked. “He wouldn’t be able to look at me again.

“So you’re just going to sit around at a shitty bar and mope around for however much time you have left?” The barman gave him a filthy glare, his muscles flexing as he cleaned another glass.

“I just can’t lose him.”

_I know._

* * *

“-‘nd there’s Levi lookin’ up at me like I murdered his cat-“

“I don’t even have a fucking cat-“

“But if you did that’s what you would’ve looked like, honeybunch-“

“- call me that again I will fucking use your intestines as skipping ropes.”

“I s’rry, Lord Midget, Dark Destroyer of All.”

“Better.”

Everything was hazy around the edges. The blinding, searing sensation that had made him squint at the sensory overload had lost its sharpness. Colours mixed and swam and danced as Levi smiled as time slowed before him.

He felt warm.

The hurricane had laid waste on the sofas. A cyclone of chocolate hair was nuzzled into Armin’s lap, the rest of Eren’s body was splayed out across Mikasa’s and Annie’s legs. They didn’t complain. Eren was Eren.

“Arrrrrrmiiiiiiiiiin.”

“-we are just two dimensional structures projected onto the cosmological horizon and if we can understand the laws that govern physics on that distant surface we could grasp all there is to know about reality.”

“I really really like dogs.”

“You are such a shit, Eren.”

* * *

“-ELLO EVERY PERSON HERE I HAVE AN ANNOUNCMENT TO MAKE.”

The music ended on a jolting cadence as it was cut short. A sea of nameless faces with black beady coals for eyes stared up at the mountain of a man standing by the DJ, the microphone lost in his vast hands.

“I WANT TO SHARE THE NEWS WITH YOU ALL THAT I AM ENGAGED TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE.”

Aaawing came from the confused and more importantly drunk crowd. Bert was attempting to hide at the back, but when you had the nerve to be 6”4 you had to accept that you had to take everything that came at you on the chin, or more likely in the stomach as no one could reach you.

“-AND I WANT TO DEDICATE THIS NEXT SONG TO THE MOST GORGEOUS MAN IN THE WORLD-THAT’S YOU BERT DEAR-AND TO ALL OF THE LOVELY PEOPLE THAT ARE HERE TONIGHT.”

_[Close your eyes, make a wish](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62eW7EbP1Qc)-_

Levi had the prickling feeling that someone was watching him. He turned himself to see big blue eyes pressed close to his face, heavy breathing grazing his neck.

“…Levi…”

“No.”

“But I haven’t even asked yet!”

“I don’t like that look you’re giving me.”

“I just want to dance with you, Levi.” Eren breathed into his ear, nose brushing the side of the older man’s face. “Please?”

The breathy sigh went straight through Levi’s ears and directly to his dick. It didn’t help that Eren had decided to leave his face planted on the side of his neck and was allowing warm lingering breaths to caress down through the collar of his shirt. The kid stunk of alcohol and was using him more as a support than anything, but he didn’t mind that much.

Levi hated dancing.

Levi hated cheesy love songs.

Levi hated night clubs.

Levi hated public displays of affection.

Levi hated-

“Okay.”

_-And I’ll hold you tight,_

_Baby all through the night-_

Much against his better judgement which had apparently dissipated from the alcohol and a shitty brat with endless eyes, Levi allowed himself to be dragged to the dance floor, past couples and best-friends-that-weren’t-dating-but-are-still-there-to-slowdance-when-you-feel-lonely-bro swaying slowly from side to side, left to right. It was unusual for a slow song to be played in a pace dedicated to partying and drinking away your regrets, but for some reason the clubbers took well to the sudden change of pace.

Levi was too short to rest his head on Eren’s shoulders.

“-don’t be a prat you’ll get back ache-“

His grumbling was silence when his face was pressed against the warmth of Eren’s neck. Levi hummed in content as he pressed his into the soft flesh, paying attention to how the hairs at the nape of his neck dance whenever he exhaled through his nose. Levi paid attention to the slight saltiness of sweat that beaded on Eren’s neck, how Eren’s shirt felt bunched beneath the palm of his hand and how he could feel the _thump thump thump_ of such a youthful heart pound with so much power and spirit that it was practically flowing through his arteries, capillaries, veins, and diffusing through membrane and radiated its bright bright light all around him, engulfing all of those who were fortunate to get in its way. Levi was _intoxicated_ by him, by Eren, by his lover, he couldn’t get enough of the weight of his hands holding Levi close, but Levi wanted _more,_ he wanted Eren to pull him closer and closer and closer and never ever let go and it was moments like this that Levi was so very thankful that he was still alive.

“I love you.”

Because he did. Levi was undeniably and utterly in love with Eren Jaegar.

“I never thought I would ever feel this way about someone but I am so in love with you Eren Jaeger.”

_-Baby tonight is your night,_

_And I will do you right-_

“Can I move in with you? Officially I mean.” It was nothing more than a light whisper in his ear, but all Levi could hear was that sentence ringing over and over in his head.

_Eren wants to move in with me._

Next to them Reiner was spinning around with Bert clutched close to his muscular chest, foreheads pressed together as they crooned the lyrics to each other between sloppy kisses. In comparison, Eren and Levi’s light drunken spinning was far less animated but just as intense.

“I’d love that.”

“I’d love that, too.”

As the song came to an end, the two lovers stared at each other deeply. No words were exchanged as their lips met in a slow, tender exchange of promises and emotions. Their kisses were light, delicate, dancing on the surface but something deeper lay under the surface.

**“FAGS!”**

* * *

“So you need me to come pick you guys up now?”

“Hanji’s my nuts are going to be frozen together at this rate yes please come pick us up.”

There was nowhere to sit out _104 th _so the students and Levi found themselves crouched down outside on the dirty pavement. No one dared to speak, still trying to make sense of what had just happened. Annie took a drag of her cigarette, Mikasa’s head was resting against her shoulder as the smoke curled upwards towards the night sky.

“Man, you have a fucking amazing fly-kick.” Connie’s bold statement broke the icy atmosphere as they laughed along with him.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve done one of those.”

“Levi bro, you practically _flew._ ”

The poor, misguided homophobes that had decided to break such a tender moment between the two lovers had no idea what they had unleashed. Like the mature adult that he was, Levi tried to talk down the situation, trying to quench the bile at the back of his throat and try and get out of the situation unscathed.

Unfortunately, Eren was a hot-headed idiot at the best of times so things started to get a turn for the worse when his boyfriend opened his mouth at the louts. Unsurprisingly, there was not much going on in the way of conceptual thought of the hecklers, who looked like they were coming off of a cocaine high judging by the twitching of their jaws, so the mouthpiece of the bigot machine thought it would be a proper response to take a swing at Eren.

_I really wish the youth of today received a proper education on sexuality these days._

If that had been true then Levi would not have seen red and be fuelled by a livid anger, the kind of rage he had never felt before. He’d been in plenty of situations, many of which were far worse than some guys that were dragging their knuckles across the floor, but this encounter had felt personal.

“Most people would have gone for a punch,” Annie mused, looking up at the street lamps flickering, “but you went straight in with a head kick.”

“Levi is just too cool.”

“Yeah Con,” Sasha squealed. “Levi is really cool! Eren, why didn’t you tell me you were dating a ninja?”

Eren had managed to drag Levi back eventually, amazingly without a single scratch on him. The same couldn’t be said for the guys rolling around on the floor, clutching at an assortment of damaged body parts. Everything had just about diffused and they thought that maybe, _maybe_ they could continue their night in peace.

That was until Reiner decided to body slam one of them.

“Reiner that was a sick elbow drop!” Connie crowed. “I didn’t know you could jump so high!”

People had stared on in horror at the large blond flying through the air with surprising grace for a man of his size, a terrifying steely look of determination on his face as his entire body weight was directed on to the guy that had dared try and fight his friends.

“My father was a semi-pro wrestler so he taught me the basics.” The big man laughed, chest swelling with pride.

“’s’rry for ruining your engagement party, guys.” Eren mumbled sullenly. “If I hadn’t have said anything then we wouldn’t have got into a fight with those guys.”

“Don’t forget being banned for life from 104th!” Jean hollered. “Because YOU FUCKERS NEED HOMOPHOBIC ASSHOLES TO BUY ALL OF YOUR SHITTY DRINKS AND DO COKE OUT THE BACK, DON’T THINK I DON’T FUCKING KNOW YOU CUNTS, I’M ON TO YOU.”

“Jean!” Marco scolded, “Don’t get into another fight with the bouncers or I’ll call Angela again.”

“Don’t you dare call my mother, Polo Boy.”

“Jean if you’re going to be like this I swear to fucking god you can fucking sleep outside you are not sharing a room with me.” Armin groaned, his petit body collapsed on the pavement.

Levi was very thankful that the club had just decided to ban them for life instead of call the police because he would have lost his job if he had a criminal record. But the owners couldn’t be bothered to deal with a court order and the homophobes chose to slink away and lick their wounds rather than face the wrath of the furious and surprisingly mostly gay engagement party.

They were just lucky Hanji wasn’t there.

“Yohoooo, Levi hun.”

“Holy shit, your truck is so cool!”

_Don’t fucking encourage her you overgrown potato._

“He’s more than a truck!” Hanji declared with pride, hoping down from the cab “Bean is more like a son to me.”

“Why the fuck did you decide to gender a piece of trash with bald tyres it literally couldn’t give a fuck about you.”

Hanji whipped round with a wonky grin on her face. “And there’s my favourite Mr. Grumpy Gills.” She squealed and wrapped him in a tight head lock, grinding her knuckles against his scalp, immune to the hate vibes that the disgruntled man was trying to send her way.

A surprise cough distracted the excitable woman. Hanji reared up, dropping her best friend to the floor in favour of squeezing Eren into a tight hug that lifted him off the floor.

“It’s my favourite honey boo in the whole world!” She plonked the taller man back on the ground with as much grace as a warthog could muster. “I hope you’re not letting Short Stack be too mean to you.”

The rest of the students sat there gawping, not sure how to react to the hurricane that had arrived with no warning.

“Ummm, this is Levi’s friend Hanji.” Eren managed weakly, trying not to meet the death glares his boyfriend was trying to send from the ground. But they both knew that Eren couldn’t avoid them forever.

They lived together now, after all.

***

After the fight sequence that looked like it had come from a movie, the gaggle of friends decided to call it a night.

“But it’s still dark!” Sasha whined, wearing only one of her heels, the other seemingly having wandered off somewhere. “We still have to celebrate and drink.”

“Shhh Sasha dear,” Reiner crooned, cradling the manic girl’s head in his hands. “We have an even bigger party to plan.”

The girl sniffled loudly, looking up at Reiner with her big, hazel eyes. “Will there be balloons?”

“There will be many many balloons.”

“Fuck yeah.”

Levi had managed to call a few of his co-workers to pick up Eren’s friends for a cheap rate as he did not doubt their intelligence for one moment, but Levi knew what undergraduates were like and decided that he would rather be able to go to sleep that night knowing they’d all gotten home okay.

Goodbyes were always awkward to people you had just had the pleasure of meeting, especially when you were not entirely sure of their boundaries or preferences yet. Levi received nods, high fives and a fist bump (Levi’s first ever) from Connie. Reiner of course was a hugger so he was allowed to do so, but Levi did grumble a bit into his chest when he felt his feet leave the floor again, because he was a grown man, after all, and not a commodity to be _fucking picked up all the fucking time._

“Lets go home.” Eren whispered, his hand creeping below Levi’s hips.

“EREN MCJAEGER KEEP YOUR HANDS ABOVE BOOTY LEVEL THERE ARE KIDS ABOUT.”

“FIGHT ME, JEAN.”

 

The seatbelts amazingly still worked in Bean’s battered back seats. Marco apparently lived near them so Hanji had been excited to take him home.

“Come in sit in the front with Mama Hanj and let the lovebirds kick back and relax.” She smiled mischievously, patting the worn leather of the shotgun seat.

“Thank you for taking me home, it’s really kind of you.” Marco blushed. He was too polite for his own good, but his honest charm already had Hanji eating out of the palm of his hand.

“Ooooh, you are so adorable!” Hanji squealed. “If I had a functioning uterus I would try and genetically engineer an embryo myself that would turn out to be just as cute as you! But probably ginger.”

“That’s a compliment.” Levi interjected, seeing the shocked and slightly horrified look on the poor student’s face. “Hanji play nice.”

Screams of anguish came from the tyres as Hanji’s foot was pressed flat against the floor, Marco’s face nearly engraved onto the dashboard in the violent movement of the decrepit truck. Levi was used to it at this point so he finally found it easier to relax than the other two men, who looked like they had as much colour in their face as the whites of their eyes. Manic stares flicked to the rear view mirror to ogle at the couple in the back, trying to absorb as much information as possible, which usually would have bothered Levi but Eren was there and Eren was breathing and Eren’s body was pressed close to his.

_As long as Eren’s here, I’m okay._

“What are you smiling at?” Eren murmured into his ear, pressing soft kisses to his lobe.

“I’m just enjoying the moment.” Which was true, Levi was enjoying the moment, he was also looking forward to enjoying the next moment and many more moments, if he was allowed to, with the stunning man sat right next to him in a shitty truck on a shitty road in a shitty city.

He was going to be okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was either this or stats revision but I finally managed to find the urge to write again.  
> As ever, hit me up on levis-dildo.tumblr.com.  
> Harass me, send me love or tell me your favourite vegetables I love hearing about anything.  
> Sorry about mistakes or poor writing, it's been so long since I've used this part of my brain.  
> Thank you so much again for reading.


End file.
